What Billy Saw
by Canucklehead Cowgirl
Summary: This is an AU of our ongoing AU. It'll all make sense soon as to why we're showing you this, but if there's too much fluff to be found in our 714 Universe, fear not. There is precious little that is fluffy here and honestly, a whole lot of misery and angst and awful. This is the universe that can drive the demiurge mad. And he can't do a thing to stop it. MAJOR CHARACTER DEATHS
1. The Beginning of the End

_A/N - __This story is part of our 714 Universe in that it coincides alongside it - and will tie in with it at a later point. But before it ties in, we need to lay down the groundwork of awful. So ... if you feel like kicking something or are just overly angsty, you've come to the right place. If you are looking for sunshine and fluff, I invite you to return to the safety of the mainstream of the 714 ... for now. (Written with magnetocerebro when we felt like kicking someone.) _

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Beginning of The End**

* * *

Things in Westchester had been incredibly busy, and not just because Kurt and Ororo had just seen their little girl through her first birthday.

Mia was by far the most distinctive of the little ones in the mansion, with her mother's shock white hair but her father's blue fur and tail — which she loved to use to curl around whoever was closest, including K and Logan's little boy as well as both Rachel and Nate Summers. Rachel was old enough to be a good, careful big sister, though Nate and James, at two and three years old respectively, were just as likely to roughhouse as be gentle, to Logan's amusement and Scott's consternation.

It had been a little over six years since Jean and Scott had kicked off the parade of kids, so things had been busy for at least that long when it came to nurturing their growing families.

But now? Now, on top of the kind of busyness that the X-Men actually _enjoyed_, the Friends of Humanity had gained serious followers under their newest leader — Graydon Creed, surprising absolutely no one who knew that family name and knew it meant trouble. So the X-Men were swamped with more than skinned knees and first steps.

In the past few weeks, the rallies the X-Men had been called to had been increasingly violent and extreme. They were obviously taking cues from the genetic predisposition for the worst kinds of revenge that Graydon Creed exemplified. It wasn't terribly _new_, honestly. The calls for extermination, the "threat to humankind," all of it was the same old same old, at least in terms of the rhetoric used. But it wasn't just words at this point. Now, the X-Men were _lucky _if the only violence was counter protest clashes. More often than not, the Friends of Humanity would round up some mutants and put action to their words.

The mansion was busy, filling quickly with rescues.

This latest rally was no exception. The Friends of Humanity had gotten their hands on a pair of sisters. And really, as soon as Logan and K had seen how hurt, scared, and _young _those girls were, the rest of the team was practically superfluous. It didn't matter what Scott said at that point. The ferals _were_ going to go after those girls, and they _were _going to destroy anything and anyone in between them and the girls.

Kurt shook his head and put a hand on Scott's shoulder even as the ferals did their work. "Really, they are only reaping what they sowed."

Scott narrowed his eyes at that. It wasn't that he didn't know exactly how Logan and K reacted to kids in danger. But he knew Creed knew it, and so did his son. And like father, like son — Scott knew either one of them wouldn't hesitate to play up that angle.

It had already happened a few times: some reporter would catch only the snarls and not the small kids in danger, and it would only add more fuel to the fire for people calling them dangerous animals and uncontrolled terrorists. But this was different. No gloating Creed. No reporters. Something was off.

Whatever it was, it wasn't immediately obvious, though that just had Scott frowning to himself. The crowd had dispersed almost too easily once Logan and K were through… though for as badly hurt as the girls were, the priority was on getting back to Westchester, not unraveling whatever Graydon Creed was up to this time. Hank was already triaging the sisters, who were hanging on tightly to Logan and K, almost buried in them, as all kids under a certain age tended to do in situations like this.

_You're worried, _Jean projected to Scott.

_Of course I am. These rallies have been getting worse every time. There's got to be something else going on under the surface. This was too easy. _

_I bet we'll find out when the news picks it up when we get home. _

Scott let out a long sigh. _I'm sure._

_Scott. _Jean reached over to take his hand. _We'll deal with it. After we get home and spend some time with the kids. _

As the group settled in for their admittedly short flight, Logan and K were carefully cataloguing every single injury the two little girls had sustained, quietly sharing looks and assisting Hank any way they could to get the kids comfortable and more prepared for a _real _examination. But it was clear to the rest of their teammates that the two of them were simply simmering over all of it.

"We can't keep playing defensively," Kurt muttered, his arms crossed as he watched Logan and K.

"We still don't know where Creed has his headquarters set up," Scott said, the frustration obvious in his tone.

"There has to be a way to find it," Kurt replied quietly, though he knew he wasn't going to be able to keep the conversation from the Howletts. Not that he was trying to. For as truly evil as the Friends of Humanity had become under Graydon Creed, he wouldn't stop his best friend or his wife from doing what they did best and solving the problem. "He is escalating. With _children_. I know you're nowhere near as calm as you're trying to appear."

Scott let out a slow and measured breath before he rubbed a spot on his forehead. "I know the professor is looking," he said. "He's careful about telepathic shielding. And he's careful about his patterns."

"Then perhaps we ask K nicely to look down the more … hidden paths," Kurt said with a wicked little smirk. "Give her whatever weapons she wants and just …" Kurt shrugged. "Let nature take its course."

"That's not a good idea," Scott said. "They're _trying _to bait us into something. You know they are. This was too easy." He gestured to the two ferals. "They're escalating, like you said. But this time? They backed off."

"Then I hate to see what it is they do to the next child that crosses their path."

"That's _not _what I meant."

"I know," Kurt said, sounding weary and more than a little frustrated himself. "I'm just tired of seeing it happen. It's not a criticism, really. I just … think that perhaps they'd regret their life choices if Logan and K were to actually start hunting them properly."

"We have to draw lines somewhere, Kurt," Scott said.

"I know, and you and the Avengers have it all worked out on where those lines are," Kurt said almost in a breath. "Easy for them to choose the lines when they aren't fighting _this _fight."

Scott narrowed his eyes, but it wasn't obvious behind the visor. "You know I've already tried to talk to them. Many times." In fact, he and the Avengers were no longer on speaking terms after he told them flat out that they were turning their backs to a genocide — and he wasn't going to retract a word of what he'd said, either.

"I know," Kurt agreed. "They only want to set the rules, not _help_." He held up both hands. "But I'm not trying to pick a fight, Scott."

"Good. Because I've already tried to fight that fight. We can't wear ourselves out." Scott leaned back and let out a breath. "If we can't find Creed… if this keeps up…"

"We'll find him," Kurt said.

"One way or another," Scott said.

"In the meantime … these two … I'm torn on if they should have family or not," Kurt said with the first whisper of a smirk. "If not, we may need to make arrangements to expand Logan and K's suite…"

Scott gave Kurt a dry look. "Oh come on," he said. "You're just hoping for another one because _I _got the godfather title for James. Admit it."

"Ah, but for that, I'm hoping for a _newborn_," Kurt countered. "This … I am hoping he continues his streak of adopting lost little girls. Even if it's not _official._"

"Like any of us can stop him."

"Yes, well … that was sort of my opening argument without trying to say as much. I should have been more blunt."

Jean finally leaned over Scott with a smile. "After a mission like that?" she asked. "Always be blunt. I think all of us are too tired for subtlety."

"Except, of course, for the three very quiet adults in the back," Kurt said. "The ones whispering to the little girls."

Ororo smirked and took Kurt's hand in hers. "You're always finding a way to be caught up in future happiness," she teased.

"It's a tough job …" Kurt said in a sigh, smiling crookedly.

"But you'll do it in style," she said, smiling even wider.

"Speaking of future happiness…" Jean said, smirking between the two of them.

"If you're not telling me about a future niece or nephew, I do not want to hear it," Kurt said with his chin tipped up just to irritate her.

Jean rolled her eyes and nudged him telekinetically just to do it. "Oh, do we have to do all the work?" she teased.

"Not that we'd complain," Scott muttered, though that got Jean to hit him with the back of her hand.

"Not who I was pointing at," Kurt said before he reached over to 'adjust' one of the levers just out of Scott's reach with his tail. "But please, carry on."

"I think we will," Jean said before Scott could say anything. "After a mission like that… we need something to unwind…"

"She's not wrong," Ororo teased Kurt, just because it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

The flirting definitely helped to lessen a lot of the anger the team still had over the way the rally had gone. Of course, they knew they were going to have to go after Creed when they got home, but at least some of the harsh tones had left the conversation. The girls had even managed to fall asleep with Logan and K before they came anywhere near the approach to land, not that it helped the two ferals to express what they were actually _thinking _of doing once they got back.

Whatever their thoughts were, though, that went out the window when they got close enough to Westchester to see evidence of a fight. There was a trail of icy destruction leading out into the forest, not to mention plenty of evidence of weaponry. But Jubilee had left the biggest imprint, with half a wing blown out, obviously from the inside, where she'd fought back.

And considering she was the one watching the kids while the rest of the team was out...

"Kurt," Logan said softly. "Get us down there _now_."

Kurt nodded quickly, teleporting down with Logan and K, while Jean reached out telepathically to see where the others were. _I can't contact the professor, _she warned.

_We'll find him anyhow, _Kurt projected back before he teleported away from where K and Logan were to search for Charles.

_What about everyone else? _Scott projected to Jean, clutching the controls a little tighter as he landed the blackbird.

_Nothing so far, _she replied, frowning deeply. _But … you know they might just be unconscious ..._

Scott only narrowed his eyes further at that, his jaw tightly locked. He didn't say it out loud or project it, but he was sure this was the escalation he'd been worried about.

On the ground, while Kurt was teleporting from one room to the next, getting more and more concerned with what he found, Logan and K were climbing through the wreckage looking for any sign of Jubilee or the kids … though that search split fast when they moved a section of wall to find Jubilee. She wasn't moving _at all_, and the list of injuries on her that were clearly _not _connected to the explosion she'd created …

Logan barely took a breath to swear to himself before he started _frantically _working to revive her, the rest of the search momentarily at a standstill while she so clearly needed help — so it was K that hit the comm.

"We need Hank, right now," K said, her voice constricted as she tried to help where she could. "Jubilee …" And the fact that K didn't _finish _what she was going to say was proof enough of how rough it was down there. "I don't see the kids anywhere …"

"We'll find them," Scott promised over the comm. "We're here. We'll look for the kids; Hank is coming your way."

Hank was, in fact, already bounding over as fast as he could, but before he got there, Jean very nearly felt all of her breath leave her when she felt the wave of _shock _hit Logan as he finally accepted that Jubilee was honestly beyond his help.

"Jean?" Scott stepped forward to catch her when it looked like she might falter.

Jean glanced up at Scott and opened her mind just enough for him to hear what she knew — though when he heard it, Scott's reaction was more anger than anything else, an almost blind fury that Jean hadn't heard from him before as they both rushed to catch up to the others.

When they caught up, Hank had done his best to try and reverse the situation, but Logan was clearly just _lost _as he watched Hank work, and K had gone the other direction entirely and was pushing harder to find a scent or _something _that would give her a trail to follow to find the kids. But that was hard to suss out when the air was thick with ozone from the massive plasmoid that had taken out that section of the school. Hank looked up at Scott and Jean as they arrived and minutely shook his head.

Jean had one hand over her mouth, but that didn't muffle the noise that escaped her all the same. And Scott crossed the space to where Logan was to put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll stop him," he said, "whatever it takes."

Logan didn't respond at all, and for the first time, Hank had to wonder if Logan had even _heard _what Scott had said.

Honestly, none of them were thinking clearly, all of them in obvious shock. So none of them were paying enough attention until a few of the intruders — several Friends of Humanity members — were practically on top of them. And Graydon Creed was at the head of the group, with Mia Wagner asleep in his arms and curled up with her tail around his wrist.

K was the first to start growling — not exactly with it but absolutely ready to fight anyhow. Partly in the kids defense but also automatically trying to cover whatever Logan wasn't quite up to yet.

Creed smirked, his expression carrying all the malice his father had. "That won't help them," he said.

"Even your _dad _wasn't low enough to threaten kids, you slimy, lowdown bottom feeder," K managed through the growl. "What a time to prove you're like your _mother._"

Creed narrowed his eyes at that before he let out a frustrated noise. "I'm better than either of them," he snapped. "Because I have defeated the X-Men." He tipped his chin. "The other three children are already gone. This one is only proof and insurance. Give yourselves up and they live. Anything less than a full surrender, any attempt to fight back, and they all die."

By that time, Kurt and Storm had arrived as well, and it was clear that they were both locked onto Mia. They hadn't found any survivors of the assault, though they hadn't found Kitty, Bobby, or Charles' bodies, either. Seeing Mia alive was heartening, but seeing her in danger had both of them on the edge of the worst kind of panic. And close by, Jean had fire in her gaze, one hand on Scott's arm as she tried to hold back what could too easily be destruction of the kind that would endanger Mia, too, considering how little control she had over her own emotions at the moment. And K and Logan shared a look in stark silence. Those that knew them best were pretty sure they'd already had a plan in place for just such an occasion — but no one knew what it was. Or if it was even feasible.

Creed tipped his head toward his men, who spread out to surround the X-Men. "Now or never."

For a long moment, there was only silence before, finally, Scott bit out a "fine" that he barely got through gritted teeth.

When the soldiers came closer, they were understandably wary of the group — though they had measures for each of them to keep them from causing too much trouble. For Kurt and Storm, they brought collars, and once they had them subdued, they were dragged over and tossed into a small, dark compartment in the transportation the Friends of Humanity had brought. At least they were together.

For Jean and Scott, there were collars as well, though they weren't placed in the same cell as Kurt and Ororo. They were both tightly bound and blindfolded before they were thrown in together in a different transport. With the collars on, they couldn't reach out like they usually did through their connection, but neither one of them had anything to say when they were both furious.

And for the ferals, as expected, even though they weren't fighting back, there was an obvious level of force in play. Several soldiers to each of them, a set of gloves on both that would keep them from using their claws — and just for extra insurance, their hands were bound behind their backs before they were pushed into separate travelling cells from the others with bags over their heads as well.

Not one of the X-Men knew where they were headed or even where the others were. They still didn't know what had happened to Bobby, Kitty, or Charles, either — and all things considered, they didn't have much reason to be optimistic.


	2. Malicious Compliance

_A/N - Practically An Avenger, I ... can only apologize. We're nowhere near done kicking them. Unfortunately I can't really answer the rest of your concerns yet either. I'm so sorry. Here. Have more awful._

* * *

**Chapter Two: Malicious Compliance**

* * *

When the X-Men were finally done travelling and dragged to their separate cells, it was clear at least to Logan and K that it was only going to get worse. The setup was familiar in that each cell was just close enough to the others that they'd be able to see what was happening while still being far enough away from them to be unable to offer any kind of reassurance. But … when it was clear that Ororo was up to something, that was when the real trouble started.

As always, she had her lockpicks hidden in different parts of her jewelry - she was rarely without _something _that she could use, after all. She was quiet, quick, and could manage a complicated pick without looking like she was doing anything with her hands at all, so when the guard pushing her around tried to shove her into her cell, she took the shot and hooked one of his feet with hers - yanking him off balance hard enough that when he hit the floor it was with a resonating _crack_.

Kurt grinned impishly at her. "_Wunderbar,_" he said. "Now, let's find Mia."

Ororo smirked at him and got to work - to remove his collar _first, _though she'd handed him a spare pick so he could start on the cuffs. "The second tumbler in these is a bit sticky," she told him with a smirk just before she'd managed to un-do the first part of the latch in his collar.

Kurt was nodding and smiling her way, but anyone who watched his tail could see that it was still entirely, so it was clear he was only flirting as a means of trying to keep himself and Ororo calm. He couldn't possibly be _serious _about it. Not when his mind was clearly on getting to Mia.

"You're next," Ororo warned, looking over Kurt's shoulder to Jean.

"Good. The sooner I can find the kids, the sooner we can burn this place to the ground," Jean said, and even with the collar on, the fire was burning just at the centers of her eyes.

"The sooner you're freed, the sooner you can _disassemble _these idiotic collars," Ororo said, the wicked, troublemaking smirk in place.

"Sure, let me do all the work," Jean shot back with a little smirk.

"And let us do the dashing rescue," Kurt said, smiling a little wider when the collar came off a moment before the cuffs did as well. He grinned and stole a quick kiss from Storm before he went to teleport off in search of the kids - but instead of teleporting, Kurt found himself still standing in front of Storm… and with an alarm blaring in his ears.

"Get out of here," Scott snarled out over the sound of the alarm.

Logan and K were both almost writhing on the floor, still with their hands bound behind their backs so they couldn't _stop _the sound of the screaming alarms from reaching their ears. Which was when the rest of the X-Men realized that those two _hadn't _been collared and that there was something the rest of the X-Men _couldn't hear _hidden in those alarms for as much pain as the Howletts were in.

Kurt stared at Logan and K for a moment before the sound of the door at the end of the hallway bursting open reached their ears over the alarms, and both Ororo and Kurt glanced at each other before they burst forward to fight back.

It was a solid fight - even without all of their skills to aid them, but the sheer number of soldiers was more than the two of them were used to handling. Try as they might - and for as hard as they fought, they were first separated from each other … and then it was clear that punishment was going to be swift.

The guards didn't even try to search Ororo for more lockpicks before one of the guards made the call to pull out what amounted to a rather small - and very dark looking box. There were small gaps in odd places, but for the most part, the box looked solid. "Keep your lockpicks," the soldier said. "You can't reach out to the locks anyhow."

"_Lass sie sein,_" Kurt hissed out, though that only had the guard holding him slamming a fist in his stomach to double him over.

"We'll get to you in a minute," the soldier said with an almost lazy wave. It took four of them to force Ororo into the box and get it closed, but Jean looked ready to murder every one of them with her bare hands if need be. Even without telepathy, every one of the X-Men there knew how _terrified _Ororo was of tight, dark spaces.

And of course, once Ororo was contained, the guards manhandled Kurt back into the collar and cuffs, though not before they left him badly battered and bruised, so even if he had been able to slip out again, he wouldn't have been able to fight his way out.

Before the guards left, they took the time to look over to the others and a pair of them made their way over to at least get the bags off of Logan and K, though as the guy in charge started out his warning to the others about 'waiting their turn' the one nearest K took a hold of her foot to start dragging her out of the cell, which she took offense to, of course.

There was a wicked kicking session that more or less ended when the soldiers got her boots pulled off and then teamed up to beat on her before they dragged her out, still trying to kick at them, still growling and spitting out curses in Swedish between her still clenched teeth. And for the first time since the nightmare had really started, Logan was growling low.

"This isn't about keeping humanity safe," Scott shouted at the retreating guards. "This is sick! _Sadistic_. And you know it!" But of course, none of them were listening, and the door slammed shut with a sickening finality. He let out a frustrated noise and sat back against the back of his cell, though it wasn't helping anyone's mood when the silence was only broken by Kurt very softly telling Ororo in both German and English that she was safe - not that it was doing much good when she was clearly panicked.

It took some time, but finally, Ororo seemed to begin to get herself settled out … so naturally, once she was exhausted from the sheer terror - that was when they could hear what was going on one floor up. It was very distant, but it quite obviously screaming. For a moment or two, they were all hoping it wasn't K, but a gasped out curse in Swedish wrecked that hope neatly.

The screams went on for a little while before Logan spoke up. "Don't react."

"What are you talking about?" Jean asked through her teeth.

"That's what they want. Don't react. Whatever they did, don't … _acknowledge _it."

"Logan, they took my - they took _all _of our kids, they're torturing your _wife_, they-"

"That's just the start," Logan growled out.

"And what the hell makes you think we're not going to react?" Scott shot back angrily. "That's our _family _on the line! We _still _don't know where the kids are - or the professor or anyone that was at the school!"

"I know," Logan said quietly, though at that, he was already clearly retreating into his own thoughts with a tentative expression.

"Logan," Kurt said softly. "What now?"

"They break everyone down," Logan replied after a long pause, gesturing toward the ceiling, wordlessly pointing out that they had _K _up there, and from the sounds of it, might even be making headway with her. "And then they'll get what they want."

"Which is what - beyond their own sadistic pleasure?" Kurt asked.

"I don't know," Logan said. "But this is basic torture and manipulation. It's intense, but it's still simple, far as I can tell."

"If they wanted us dead, we'd be dead," Scott said, tipping his head Logan's way. "So this isn't extermination. This is about weapons."

Logan clearly wasn't focused on anything as he slowly shrugged. "Maybe."

"What else can it be?" Kurt asked. "That's always the case - it's either death or slavery for mutants in the minds of people like this."

"This isn't just used on mutants," Logan muttered.

The group of them fell silent, though it was obvious none of them were able to quite push down the honest hurt, anger, and worry running through the whole cell block. Especially after the screaming from upstairs _stopped_ and silence rang out instead. That was somehow worse.

So when, an hour later, the guards came and went straight to Logan's cell, the "don't react" rule went right out the window. Kurt swore in an almost demonic sounding German as his growls and snarls accented the already angry words, but Scott was louder and in a language the guards actually spoke.

"Keep your hands off him or not one of you is getting out the other side of this in one piece," Scott snapped at the guard leading the charge into the cell.

Logan couldn't help but frown Scott's way for that, though it was clear Scott didn't have any means to back it up, which only made the statement that much more confusing to Logan as the guards jostled him and dragged him out of the cell.

Whatever Logan had been expecting, though, it absolutely wasn't to find himself taken to a room where Bobby was tied up and on his knees, with two very large and obvious heat lamps on either side of him focused down at him. He was dehydrated, sweaty and exhausted, though he looked surprised to see Logan there too.

"Here's the deal," one of the guards said, holding onto Logan's shoulder as he said it. "You want him to live through what we're dishing out? Then _you _dish it."

"What." Logan turned toward the guard with a clear glare. "No."

"Fine," the guard said. "We'll just turn up the heat, then."

"What the hell's wrong with you," Logan growled, jerking his shoulder away from the guard that still had his hand on him. "You don't need to do this to him. You got a question, he'll probably just answer it."

"That's not the point," the guard said. "But if you're volunteering for the interrogation, we'll get to that, too."

"No, that's … what the hell do you want from the kid?"

"Absolutely nothing," the guard told him with a sneer. "Which is why it doesn't matter if he lives or dies."

Logan shook his head at that. "If that was the case, you sure as hell wouldn't be askin' me to beat on him. What'd stop you from just killin' him anyhow?"

"Too cool to die," Bobby said, whisper-quiet.

The guard spared Bobby a look and then turned back to Logan. "No one on my detail wants to wipe noses and deal with screaming toddlers. That's his only use."

Logan turned his way with an honest growl. "Izzat some kinda crack on my wife?"

"You asked what's stopping us killing your teammate? We need a babysitter for the brats until the mini-muties are old enough to be _useful_."

"What." The word was far more growl than anything else, and Logan didn't even think before he had turned on the guard and laid into him hard. He might have brought Logan there to beat on Bobby, but that had backfired spectacularly.

Of course, the guard wound up on the ground and hurting pretty fast, but there were enough guards in the detail that it was really just a numbers game for Logan before they'd pulled him off their leader and gotten him more or less restrained - though for what it was worth, Logan could hear Bobby whispering just under the guards' hearing range, "Asked for it."

Logan almost managed a grim sort of smirk as the guards kept him pressed into the floor. Their leader needed medical intervention and the lesser guards really didn't know what to do with Logan at that point.

At least until Graydon Creed showed up and walked past where Logan was being pressed down to glare at Bobby and crank up the heat to full blast. He wasn't looking at Logan, but it was clear that's who he was addressing as he spoke. "I know it's hard to get anything through that thick skull of yours," he said. "So let me explain in small terms. I tell you to do something, you do it. I don't care how many of your little friends we go through before you follow instructions; I've got plenty to pick from."

"Is that your deal with everyone?" Logan growled out.

"The ones I can use."

"Where's my wife?" Logan asked in a lower growl.

"Not here."

"No kidding. Where is she?"

Graydon simply smirked before he lashed out and kicked Bobby in the stomach, crumpling him over. "Not here. You're not in control here, _Weapon X,_" Graydon told Logan before he kicked Bobby again. "What do you think will be worse - dehydration or internal bleeding? Both will take a while."

Logan couldn't come up with anything snarky when he was honestly concerned about the kids and K - and their missing members, and though he had plenty of threats, he honestly didn't want to give Graydon any ideas, so the only thing he _could _do was to clench his jaw and … growl.

"Typical," Graydon said in a sigh before his next blow sent Bobby reeling again.

"Logan, c'mon," Bobby ground out. "Just… get it over with."

Logan's growl stopped almost instantly on hearing it, though it still took a moment for him to get a handle on himself - eyes shut tight as he shook his head. "Popsicle …"

"S'okay," Bobby promised. "Only way you could beat me."

"Fine," Logan finally breathed out. When the men holding him down finally let him up - after Graydon was safely out of the way - Logan shook his head lightly to himself and drew in a deep breath before he started working Bobby over, even if he _may _have broken a few of Graydon's unspoken rules. Like by cutting him down first so Bobby wasn't a punching bag. Or by making sure that the hits he was taking would _look _absolutely horrible in the next quarter hour, but weren't actually _bad _blows that would cause deeper, lasting damage. But even at that, it was clear that when Bobby was on the floor in a lump that Logan felt like total trash.

Eventually, a few more guards arrived - reinforcements not just to move Logan but to move Bobby too, which was at least enough for Logan to see they weren't just going to finish Bobby off if they were moving him. But it wasn't doing much for his mood when he got back to where the others were - sans Hank, and with K still missing.

"Logan?" Kurt breathed out once Logan was locked back in.

But of course, Logan turned away from the group as a whole and kept quiet as he folded in on himself.

* * *

It didn't take long for the rest of the X-Men to learn the score. Not that any of them were really in a state to _say _anything even when they were around each other. The tight, familial connections they had all enjoyed were being strained, and they hadn't been prepared for it.

Kurt was surprised, then, when he was escorted to just outside a room where he could see, on the other side of the glass, that Nate was snuggling a very black and blue Bobby while Kitty looked to be at her wits end trying to console kids that hadn't seen their parents for far too long.

He was staring at Mia in particular, who had a look of fury so much like her mother's that Kurt very nearly smiled simply because of the similarities. But that went out the window when one of the guards snapped something around his wrist.

"GPS," the guard explained. "Any unauthorized teleportation and the computer sends out a subsonic burst. Ought to fry the brains of anyone in a twenty yard radius."

Kurt narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth, unconsciously moving his hand with the GPS further from the kids. The guard didn't have to spell out the rest of it: if he tried to teleport to the kids, he would kill them.

And it didn't escape his notice that Rachel, the oldest, had a similar clunky bracelet on, but the guards didn't share the details on that one just yet.

Instead, they took Kurt to a staging area, and he was both surprised and relieved to see K there, even if she looked like she was just waiting for an opportunity to figure out how to make these guys pay for every single insult.

As usual, Graydon himself was keeping distance, so it was one of his lieutenants that explained the mission: "Magneto sent some of his group to Westchester to investigate the institute. Kill as many as you can, but leave one to tell Magneto who sent you and tag them. We'll pick up whoever you miss and the one you tag later."

Kurt looked toward K, but when she had nothing to add, he simply nodded. He waited until the smoke had cleared from the teleport before he turned her way. "I know where the little ones are, but I can't 'port to them," he told her, his tone ringing with anger and frustration.

"I know," K said through gritted teeth.

"Then do you know what Rachel is wearing?" Kurt asked.

K gestured to Kurt's wrist. "Same thing you are, only they hit the button if I don't do what I'm told."

Kurt let out a growl from the back of his throat. "I'm going to kill him as soon as we get out of this," he swore.

"Okay," she said half under her breath. "You do that."

Kurt let out a breath when he heard it. "We _are_ getting out of this," he said. "I don't know how yet, but he _will _make a mistake, and then we end him. That is the only way this can end for him."

K turned his way for a moment and simply watched him for a long moment. "I don't know if they have you with me now for ease of transport or to wreck your hope."

"It will take more than this to wreck that," Kurt said.

"I doubt we'll all get out of this, Kurt. But I wish you luck."

Kurt frowned at her tone. "_Nein, mein Freund,"_ he said gently as he rested his hand on her shoulder. "If we do not all make it out, then none of us will truly survive. Thus, I choose to believe we _will _escape."

"Right. Well, in the meantime, this is my downtime. Waiting for Magneto's guys to show their faces."

"At least you have good company," Kurt said in a soft attempt to tease.

"In who?" K asked with a frown as they started to work their way around the edge of the forest.

"The best looking X-Man, of course."

K shook her head at that though, clearly not herself at _all_. "I'm alone except for the creeps that keep tapping out."

Kurt let out a breath. "Back there, _ja_, but not _now. _Focus on that. None of us have seen you in some time and it is a relief to find you alive." He gave her a tight smile. "See? Hope."

K was still for a long while - much longer than Kurt had seen her take to reply to such a simple, open statement of _fact. _He was starting to wonder if she was going to respond at all when she finally did - very quietly. "I've dealt with a lot of manipulation and torture rackets, fuzzy Elf. I've never found one until now that didn't bother taking breaks. This … I can't even think."

Kurt let his shoulders fall and then pulled her into a hug. "K…" He let the sentence fall. "I _will _kill them. I promise."

For a moment, K leaned into the hug, but only for a moment. "We have a job to do," she said in a flat tone.

Kurt frowned at her tone but decided not to press her - all threats considered - and simply followed her once she had picked up the scent for a few of the Brotherhood flunkies. And they somehow weren't surprised to find the usual suspects of Toad and the Blob, plus Pyro and Quicksilver all looking over the rubble and speculating on the X-Men's sticky end.

Kurt glanced to K. "Well then…"

"I've got the speedster," K said before she started to limp _obviously_. "Leave the most worthless one alive."

"So I will need to have a long chat with Toad. Lovely," Kurt said, though he didn't have any of his usual light tone, and he teleported off to catch the Bob's attention.

K's little act seemed to work wonders. She limped partway out of the forest, and when she thought she was far enough away that the others wouldn't try to follow Quicksilver, she made sure to call out for help before she stumbled a little. If that didn't draw him in fast, she wasn't sure what would.

Sure enough, Quicksilver caught up to her in a flash, one hand under her arm before she could slip the rest of the way to the ground. "What's going on?" He asked over her shoulder. "This doesn't look like Boom Boom got carried away."

"No," K replied, though before he knew what hit him, she sent a fist full of claws through his chest. "And I'm sorry for this."

Quicksilver looked honestly shocked, instinctively holding onto her hand as his knees buckled. But he didn't get the chance to do more than that before she pulled her hand back, the claws retracted, and he fell to the ground.

"I'm so sorry, Pietro," K said as she tried to make him more comfortable, clearly shaken up and trying to keep her composure. "But if you'd have lived, you'd be stuck working for them. And I can't let them do that to you. I can't give them a path to Genosha."

But that just had Pietro frowning hard until he couldn't anymore and let his head fall - just as K could hear Kurt further out in the trees baiting the Blob into a blow that crushed Pyro and not Kurt, which only had Fred more determined to destroy the too-quick Nightcrawler.

As Kurt worked, K took a moment to search Pietro for his phone … and then took the chance to try and put a note into a text, just asking that if whoever found the note could please try to take care of Jubilee … and then trusting that Kurt's message would make it with Toad. The message wasn't strictly her job anyhow.

Eventually, Kurt made his way over, slightly bent over and singed from a few good shots, and slipped down to sit next to K. "Toad is running with his tail between his legs," he said softly. "He knows to warn Magneto about Graydon Creed." He paused and looked toward Pietro. "K … this is suicide. Magneto will destroy everything when he sees this."

"I know." K had been sure to arrange Pietro so he looked almost like he'd simply laid down, and she'd taken care to close his eyes, too. "I'm counting on it."

Which was right about when Kurt realized exactly how far off Logan's wife was right then if suicide by Magneto was the best option she could think of.


	3. Leverage

**Chapter 3: Leverage**

* * *

While Kurt and K had been out, the guards had come again and left with Scott, though as always, they weren't exactly chatty and simply dragged him wordlessly out. The others who were left shouted the usual abuse at the guards, of course — ignoring the "don't react" rule Logan had tried to get them to listen to in favor of letting off steam.

But they hadn't really been expecting it when, after a long stretch of silence, what they heard wasn't screaming. Not really.

"Wait, no — _stop!_" The tone was one they just weren't used to hearing from Scott, and it was desperate in a way that instantly had Jean on her feet and terrified that their kids were in trouble.

Especially when a beat later, Scott let out a sound that Jean had never heard — but Logan and Ororo had. When Jean had died, that had been Scott's reaction too.

But it was silent for far too long before the guards came back — without Scott — and went to Logan's cell, flat out ignoring Jean as she _demanded _to know what they had done with her husband, fire barely restrained in her eyes because she didn't know where her children were and couldn't risk the Phoenix with them.

Logan was taking up the defensive right away, even before they guards had put the key into the adamantium-encased lock on his cell. "What the hell did you do?" he snarled out, his claws pricking at the backs of his hands, just itching to tear into them.

"That's not really your concern."

"Like hell it's not," Logan countered, though as soon as he put up the least bit of actual resistance, the guards took advantage of at least _one _of their tricks.

"Come along quietly or one of them dies. We really don't care which one … we can make it random. One of the kids … one of your missing friends … maybe you can guess which it'll be." The guard smirked. "We've had a lot of practice figuring out how to kill one of you healers, you know. Pretty sure we got a sure-fire method now."

For a moment, Logan couldn't really react like he'd wanted to. He _had _it plotted out in his head - the best way to take this little group out … wouldn't take any time at all, and he knew he could be fast enough …

"One more thing," the guard said. "If we don't show up in the next five minutes, _someone _is going to die."

Logan was more frustrated still at that,and knowing he had no way to get out of it without costing them someone, he grudgingly went along with them.

But when Logan got there, all he could focus on was the _look _on Scott's face where he was tied up and just… still. Looking at absolutely nothing. For a moment, Logan didn't move, staring at Scott and not really wanting to show his cards, if he even had any at that point. He just couldn't figure out what could have made Scott lose that much that fast.

"We need intel," the guard said to Logan.

"He doesn't know anything that I can't tell you," Logan said.

"He ran the team."

"And was open about it, too."

The guard narrowed his eyes and then simply shoved a list at Logan, all the things they wanted, from the code to get into the room where Cerebro was housed to the names and locations of students that hadn't been there when they made their play.

All were things Logan was more than willing to lie about. And unlike Scott, Logan knew he could at least sell it. "Charlie's the only ones with the codes," Logan said in an almost conversational tone. "Auto resets every few days. His list. He shares it if he needs to, and only then."

"Then there's no point in not destroying the rest of the school," the guard said.

Logan tossed the list on the table in front of him. "Nope."

"Fine. But the rest of it—" The guard gestured to the list.

"I know he's a little Type-A, but he sure as hell hasn't memorized where all the kids are," Logan said dryly. "That's just stupid."

"Ask anyway."

Logan did his best to bite back a growl. "You know where the kids are, Slim?" Logan asked, his irritation perfectly clear in his tone of voice. "I think this guy wants to pick up that one that couldn't control the poison he emitted … constantly. Or maybe that vampire kid would be a good fit." It was Logan's _only _attempt to pull Scott into the here and now, and even as he said it, he knew it wasn't going to really work.

When it was clear Scott _couldn't _talk, Logan turned to the guard. "I don't know what you learned about interrogation, but you _can't _interrogate someone that's this far out of it. Even if he knew, he sure as hell couldn't put it together right now. Whatever you did — you went too far."

"Wasn't me," the guard said.

"Whoever it was was an idiot," Logan said before he closed the distance to sit down across from Scott. "I can't do anything here."

"That's not what's in the orders," the guard said. "Look, you don't want to run it, fine. But-"

"You don't get it," Logan growled out. "I've done this kind of work for half my life. If there was a way to do it, I could, but once you've taken 'em this far — you can't do a damn thing."

"And I told you: it wasn't us."

"Bullshit."

"Not our fault the guy couldn't play the game," the guard insisted. "You know the rules."

At that, Logan got up again and made his way toward the guard with a growl starting up. "What the hell did you do?"

"Ran exactly this with Xavier," the guard said, though he took an unconscious step back. "He refused, so we killed the old man. That's how this works."

Logan blinked at him a few times. "You did what?"

"Told you - it wasn't us. That was his call."

"And you can't figure out why the hell he's unresponsive?" Logan almost bellowed. "Your whole damn group is a buncha chimps with screwdrivers!"

"You gonna run this or not?" the guard shouted back.

"There's nothing _to run_," Logan snarled out. "He can't answer anything like this! Don't you get that? Even with those two brain cells firing on high, you should be able to figure that much out."

"Maybe you both need a better incentive," came the response crackled on the radio, obviously from Graydon Creed in the next room over.

"It's not a matter of incentive," Logan defended, whirling in place to where the one-way glass was. "He can't access anything when he's been pushed that far. _No one _can. That's why they call it a shut down."

"I don't care," Graydon replied. "He's worthless to me if I can't use him." There was a short pause before a different voice joined Graydon with an enthusiastic, "Hi, Daddy! Hi, Scoot!"

It was the first thing that Scott had actually responded to, and he was almost holding his breath. "Logan."

Logan looked up at Scott, but was stuck right on the verge of either snarling and snapping entirely or just … freezing.

"Logan, it's fine," Scott said.

"No, it's not," Logan whispered back.

"It's _James."_

It was clear how angry Logan was with all of it. If he could _see _where behind the glass they were, he could make a break for it, clear the room, and get James _out_. But Graydon never changed the light in the room he was in, so they were still stuck. "List is in front of you," Logan said, his tone entirely constricted. With the hand that was away from the one way glass, Logan was tapping out Morse code: _war zones_.

Scott nodded and closed his eyes. It was obvious he was trying to _think_, and he very slowly started to tell the guards a list of coordinates he _knew _would put them at least in the path of the Avengers or the Brotherhood. "That's it," he said, more to Graydon than Logan. "Let James go."

There was a beat of silence before they knew James was leaving — if only for the yelling from the little boy as he demanded his dad or his Scooter over and over.

Both Logan and Scott had the wind out of their sails. So it was deadly quiet as Graydon added, "One more thing."

Logan closed his eyes, just waiting for the shoe to drop and guessing at least that James was the leverage.

"Before you go, take his eyes," Graydon said as casually as if he had been leaving a lunch order.

"Why?" Logan asked, sounding every bit as angry as one would expect, though Scott had almost the opposite reaction, looking at the floor and bracing himself.

"Simple," Graydon said. "Make an example. Use your powers for me or you will lose them or your lives. No exceptions."

"Yeah? This your way of not givin' him a _choice_ in it?" Logan challenged.

"This isn't a request, Weapon X. It's an order."

"And if I refuse?" Logan asked with a definite growl.

"Then little James never makes it to his nursemaid alive."

It was clear there was no decision to be made, but Logan had a hell of a time not attacking the guards that were at the edge of the room, and he still was searching for some way _out _of it.

"It's fine," Scott said at last, just barely at a whisper.

"Stop saying that," Logan replied just as low.

"Hey. We both know what's going to happen here. Better you than them," Scott said. He let out a breath. "It's fine. It's James. No choice in it."

Logan's hands were shaking from how tight his fists were clenched, and he curled up his lip slightly as he drew a quick breath — an instant before he lashed out. Careful, quick, and as efficiently as he knew how. It even took a moment for Scott to register what had happened.

And then, as Scott did his best impression of alright, biting nearly through his lip as he refused to give Graydon Creed the satisfaction of more screams to torture the others who would hear it, one of the guards handed Logan the supplies to clean up. "Take him back with you," the guy said. "You're done today."

Logan didn't say a word until he'd managed to get a little better control over himself, and then he quietly warned Scott of what he was doing as he started cleaning up the mess - and after a moment, whisper-quiet apologizing over and over. He knew he couldn't fix this, but he did cut through the collar on Scott to wrench it off — it wasn't necessary anyway — and to cut through the ropes holding him bound.

"Stop. It's fine," Scott said through his teeth.

"It's not," Logan replied.

"Sure as hell isn't your fault either," Scott shot back.

"Could've done _something _different," Logan muttered, though he had moved on from clean up to dressing the wounds. There was a pause before he had to clear his conscience. "I beat up Bobby. It was me."

"Same setup?"

"No," Logan admitted. "They had him under heat. He was gonna fry him or kick him to death."

"Then you saved him," Scott said. He paused. "I couldn't… the professor…" It was obvious he was struggling to put words to what had happened. "I couldn't."

"I'm sorry for that, too," Logan said in a low rumble.

"It was me."

"Just like Bobby and this was me."

Scott shook his head. "You saved him from dying. And James." He let out a long breath. "This was me. All of it."

"I just can't buy that, Scott."

"You weren't there," Scott said. "I know what happened. It's my fault."

"So tell me what happened when we're away from the guards," Logan said quietly, entirely sure that he'd need to tell Jean and Kurt, which was all he thought he'd be able to do for Scott before Logan himself would simply draw back more from them if he could. "You don't need to say it twice."

"Same setup," Scott said in an almost dull tone. "But I wouldn't — I couldn't hurt him. I couldn't do it, and they killed him instead." By that point, Scott was almost shaking trying to hold in his pain and grief. "You're here because they know I _can't _do it. So I'm useless to them except to hurt the rest of — God, I'm sorry, Logan."

"I'm here because they already know all they need to do is remind me of what I'm supposed to _be_," Logan said dully. "Just had to get the right choke chain. That's all." He finished wrapping Scott up and handed him the rest of the bandages.

"I'm sorry," Scott said again as Logan helped him upright.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Slim," Logan said. "Outside of trusting me, that is. That … Just … keep your hand on my shoulder, and I'll get you to Jeannie."

"Alright." It was clear Scott was barely holding himself together, but neither man was _able_ to say more than that. Not when they both felt like they were at fault.

The guards flanked them all the way there, and when they got to the cells, Logan honestly couldn't look either Jean or Ororo in the eyes — Kurt wasn't there, but their captors had apparently decided to let Ororo breathe outside of the small box or risk causing a shutdown like they'd down with Scott — as he helped Scott get to Jean's cell before the guard took a hold of Logan's arm and pulled him back.

"What happened?" Jean breathed out, staring at Scott openly as she guided him to sit down. The guards weren't stopping Jean and Scott from sharing a cell, but anyone could see it was because they wanted Jean to see what they were willing to do — and because Scott wasn't a threat anymore.

"They didn't give me a choice," Logan said quietly before the guard opened his cell and waited for him to step in. The moment he did, Logan made his way directly to the furthest corner and did his best to curl up into a ball there. "Sorry, Jeannie."

"It was me or James," Scott said in a breath, not about to let Logan take the blame.

Jean stared at him, both hands on either side of his face. "They… no." She shook her head slowly. "They can't — they _won't _get away with this." But it was clear she didn't have it in her to do anything more than watch over Scott at the moment, especially when both he and Logan seemed so… spent. She was too worried to risk leaving either of them.

The whole cell block was locked in a sort of stunned silence for a long time after Logan and Scott's return, with Logan doing his best to keep to the far side of his cell and Jean quietly running her hands in Scott's hair. No one knew what to say, so the spell of silence only broke when the door opened and the guards brought K and Kurt in as well.

Kurt was obviously furious, his tail in constant motion and his teeth bared, which had the guards giving him a wide berth. But K was simply unresponsive. She was awake, but she wasn't reacting to anything — and apparently, this was the norm, since the two guards that brought her there didn't seem to think that the little feral was any kind of a threat to them like that, even when they unceremoniously shoved her in the cell across from Logan by herself before they left.

"Where have you been?" Ororo asked, looking both relieved and concerned as she watched Kurt pace his cell.

"They've had her _working _for them," Kurt said. "And when they're done making her do unspeakable things, they've been torturing her non-stop." He ran both hands through his hair. "She can't _think _properly to form a plan that won't get _all of us killed_."

"What are you talking about?" Jean asked, finally looking over to watch Kurt as she did her level best to keep Scott's head on her shoulder.

Kurt let out a sigh of frustration. "They put a device on me for the _mission _they made us run. I was to ensure that K got to Westchester and back out again after killing most of the Brotherhood."

"How does that get all of us killed?" Ororo asked.

Kurt let his shoulders drop as he turned toward her. "She killed Pietro _first_."

"Magneto is going to crush this entire compound," Scott said, sounding almost resigned. After everything else, it was just… one more misery to pile on.

"We have to find a way to alert him — at least to get the kids out of the way of his attack," Jean said in a breath.

"K … may have done something like that," Kurt said slowly and very quietly. "I didn't see what she wrote, but she had Pietro's phone."

Jean nodded as Ororo said, "Then it's only a matter of time."

"Yeah. We know better than anyone what he's capable of on the warpath," Jean said, trying hard to find a grain of optimism when the rest of the group was obviously spent.

"Let's just see what happens when he arrives," Kurt said tiredly. He leaned back and then frowned at Scott. "What…"

"They want me to take them apart," Jean bit out, her hand on Scott's knee and the other in his hair as he leaned against her.

"Then he's using all of us," Kurt said softly, tipping his head back as he looked toward Ororo. "I can only hope he wishes you to use some lighting. A lot of it."

"If that is the case, I will oblige," Ororo said. "With pleasure."

"What … has happened while I was gone?" Kurt asked, watching Scott and Jean.

"Creed doesn't know when to stop," Scott said, though Kurt was concerned by the fact that his tone was worn and had none of the usual bite to it.

"Yes, but what happened, Scott? I'm sure you are fine, but to what degree?"

"It's fine, Kurt," Scott said. "I'm fine. I'm not—" He cut himself off and then let his voice drop. "The professor — I — he's—"

"We'll find him," Kurt promised.

"No, Kurt," Scott said softly. "No we won't."

"Scott, you can't give up hope, not now," Kurt replied almost sternly.

"There's nothing to hold onto, Kurt," Scott shot back. "He's — he's dead." It was obvious the admission cost him, and he had nothing to give when it was done, leaning against Jean almost limply while she tried to reassure him with her presence alone.

Kurt looked as if Scott had thrown water in his face. "Then … we have to focus on the little ones," he decided finally.

"That's all that matters," Scott breathed out. "He's been using them as leverage, but he knows that can't last."

"Yes, I've seen the leverage," Kurt said in a more serious tone.

"I've only _heard _James — are they okay?" Scott asked, a bit more openly.

"No, they most certainly are not," Kurt replied. "Bobby and Kitty are watching over them, but the devices they are using …" He let out a growl of frustration before he explained how they worked — and how little Rachel was wearing one.

"That has to go before we can get them out," Jean said. "If you can tell me where they are, if I let out a little fire…"

"I can tell you where they are, but I don't know where the men holding their fingers over the buttons are. They took my bracelet off before putting me in here again," Kurt said. "Probably to protect their assets. The one on Rachel was to keep K in line, by the way."

Ororo narrowed her eyes and looked toward K, who was the mirror image of Logan curled up in her cell. "As soon as that comes off, we destroy them," she said.

"Does Rachel know what it is?" Jean asked, not even bothering to hide her concern.

"I don't know," Kurt said. "I wasn't allowed to speak to them."

"At least they have someone they know with them," Jean said, though her eyes were flashing the more she thought about it.

"Then for now, we wait," Ororo said in a breath.


	4. Like Father, Like Son

**WARNING: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH. SUICIDE WARNING**

* * *

**Chapter 4- Like Father, Like Son**

* * *

The day after the Brotherhood was slaughtered, the guards returned to the cells where the X-Men were held. Again, they picked out Kurt and K and hauled them off without a word spoken to the others on the way. The persuasion was the same as it was before, though this time, K was more than a little confused when she was told to change into something clearly less … uniformed. In fact, it looked like one of the newest off the line sundresses that Jean had been considering before this fiasco started up.

Kurt had no special outfit to wear - just his uniform, as always. And it was pretty clear that he had his own set of orders by the extremely unhappy expression he was wearing.

"This will be a two-part mission for you, Nightcrawler," Graydon said with a smug sort of look on his face. "You need to drop your partner off at the first location then move on to the second where I expect you to kill or capture our dear mother." he turned toward K. "Don't worry, I'm not leaving you out of the fun." He slid a device toward K and waited for her to pick it up. The moment her fingers touched the box, the guard directly behind her stepped forward and hit her with an autoinjector in the side of her neck. "The device is how you'll capture Sabretooth. The tracker in your neck is my insurance that you'll be returning. Just incase you think you have a clever way around the device with the children." K was rubbing the side of her neck as Graydon continued.

"Nightcrawler … you'll have one hour to deal with Mystique, then you'll need to go back to get K and my father," Graydon said. He turned toward K. "I expect that should be more than enough time for you to _capture _and sedate him using _any _means necessary to do so." Graydon paused at the door. "Your time starts when you teleport out of here. Do _not _go outside of those parameters." He made sure to give K one last, hard glare before he stepped out.

As the door closed heavily, K glanced down at the dress in front of her. "Do you know where we're headed?" she asked before she simply started to change. "I guess I have to blend in with the crowd and just … play bait."

"Yes," Kurt said, though he was obviously still upset as he considered his own mission. "I know enough to get us there. Not much more."

"Then I guess we better get it over with." K finished pulling on her shoes then gave Kurt a tight sort of smile, though there was a slight tremor to her voice when she spoke. "You'll take care of Logan and James for me if this goes south, right?"

Kurt knew better than to argue, considering _who _they were going after. "Of course," he said automatically. "And you will do the same for Mia should my mother prove… as difficult as usual."

K nodded at that. "You've got some honest rage on your side," she said. "You'll get her."

"I know. That does not make me feel much better."

"You're too dashing to die from her treachery," K replied as she took Kurt's arm and frowned at the little device in her hand.

"Do you know what it is?" Kurt asked.

"It's one of Stark's designs," K told him. "I don't know how he got it. Tony shelved it because it was too hard to make work unless you were _far _too close." She met his gaze. "I do not like this little thing. It _will _knock him out, but I'll have to hold down the buttons while pressing it to the skin to make it work."

Kurt winced in sympathy. "Then I will be fast," he promised. "Lest he wake up first and you find yourself in an even worse position."

"Work smart, not hard," K agreed. "For both of us, right?"

Kurt nodded his quick agreement before he took her covered her hand with his and teleported them both to Grayson's coordinates. He made sure to kiss K's cheek before he took a step back. "Good luck," he said before he disappeared.

"Same to you," K muttered to herself before she started looking around the little plaza. This was definitely Victor's kind of place, but with no sign of him immediately visible, she'd have to do a little looking around. She started to walk through the sparse crowd. There wasn't anything that screamed out 'this is the spot' though, and considering that she knew she had Kurt's brimstone clinging to her, she thought it might just be best to be the good little bait she was supposed to be. Which is why she headed to the nearest bar and took a seat in a booth where she could watch the door.

* * *

Kurt, meanwhile, had gone to the villa where Mystique had been staying after an assassination run, unwinding and spending all of a freshly dead duchess' money.

She saw him coming, of course, but she didn't get up from her balcony seat. "I'm busy, darling."

"You look it," Kurt said, stalking steadily toward her. He was thinking of Mia and the others in that little room as he played with the sword in his hand with a flourish that was more habit than anything else.

Raven let out a long sigh and got to her feet, setting down her drink to face him. "What's wrong? You wouldn't come here with your swords drawn just to get in a little mother-son time…"

"Unlike some, there is nothing I wouldn't do for my children," Kurt said in almost a growl. He didn't explain more than that before he burst forward, not at all surprised when his steel met her daggers.

But as K had said, Kurt had the advantage of rage and desperation. Not to mention Raven had never fought him when he was trying to do anything but stop her. Every thought of Mia or little Rachel with that thing on her arm only gave him more power behind his blows until he had disarmed her with a complicated move that used both hands and run her through with the dagger he caught with his tail.

She let out a horrible squelching gasp and stared at him in shock. "Kurt…"

"Believe me," Kurt said as he tore the dagger free and then stabbed her again, "this is more merciful than your other son would be."

Raven blinked at him as she sank to her knees. "This isn't like you," she breathed out.

"No," he agreed. "But needs must." He took a step back, watching his mother, knowing he couldn't simply leave until he knew for sure that she was dead.

And even if she had never truly been a mother to him, Kurt couldn't stop himself from sitting with her until she was gone - or from arranging her hands to rest on her stomach. Though that was also a means to check her pulse.

He stayed as long as he dared, balancing his need to be there and his worry for K, before he finally teleported off.

* * *

K had waited at the bar and gone through several martinis before she finally paid her tab and got moving. She was sure Victor would be where there was alcohol, but for the first time on one of these missions, she was wrong. It was almost a relief as she stepped out of the bar, if not for the fact that it only left the rest of the world wide open, and she wasn't sure if he'd been watching her anyhow.

With a sigh that she'd hoped would loosen her shoulders, K started down the street, her head turned and her sunglasses pushed up her nose as she did her best to look like she was window shopping. She almost swore when she caught a whiff of him when the wind shifted slightly. Of _course _he'd been following her. The using bait thing was much easier when you weren't the _center _of the bait.

She paused and turned toward the scent on the wind. If she tried to act too clueless, he'd know something was up, after all. That was the real problem with hunting someone like Victor - he wasn't simple prey. For a long moment K looked out over the crowd, openly looking for Victor and even allowing herself to slip up onto her tip toes and tip her chin up to catch his scent better, but naturally, the wind wasn't in her favor after the tiny momentary shift. K bit her lip and gave the square one last long look before she readjusted the fabric over her stomach and started walking again.

K made it almost to the parking area before Victor spoke up. "Kinda far away to be all alone, aren'tcha?"

"What do you want, Victor?" K asked in her usual almost bored tone that came into play when he crossed her path, even if they both knew it was a bluff.

Victor smiled crookedly. "Where's the blue rat?"

"If you want to talk to him, you should probably wait to talk to him," K said before she made to step around him and was, of course, blocked. "I'm sure he'll be along any time."

Victor took a step forward and K took one back, though she didn't have to fake the nerves at him being in her space like that. "Guess I'll just keep you company until then. Though … it'd be a shame if you weren't here when he came back for you."

K did her best to look off guard, even if this was exactly what she knew he needed to do for her to catch him. "How about no?" As she started to walk backward, Victor reached out and grabbed a hold of her wrist.

"Don't make a scene now," he growled out low, a smile painted on as he watched a little group of preschoolers walk by in a single file line. "Don't want anything to get out of control, do you?"

"Why are you even _here_?" K asked, pulling steadily to get her arm back from him. It wasn't the one with the device, but there was no reason to jump the gun when she _knew _she could get in closer. And she'd _need _to.

"Lil' mini-vacation," Victor replied in a purr. "What about you? I don't catch a whiff of the Runt or your little brat …" But that was just a step over the line for K, and before she could school it, she was growling. "Easy now, girlie. Lots of tiny witnesses might could get in the way. You wanna try an' throw down, we can take it somewhere more private."

"I'm not going _anywhere _with you," K hissed.

"Yeah? How ya plannin' ta stop me from makin' ya? Where's your sweetheart, eh? Ain't like him to let the girl that owns his lil' battered heart run around without back up. Not knowin' full well that there's a price to be paid for carryin on in the open like you two have been … an' it's long past time you paid up."

"Not here," K replied between her teeth, though she didn't drop his gaze one bit. Half of it was the challenge he as looking for - and the other half was honest fear.

"Then you better start walkin' nice and easy," Victor countered with a growl of his own, looming over her before he pulled her closer to his side - nearly knocking her off her feet as he kept an iron grip on her arm. The two of them walked down several blocks from where he'd first approached without a word between them, though Victor kept yanking on her now and again just as a show of dominance. When they got far enough away from the little square, he dragged her into an alley, and a moment later, he'd pinned her against one of the brick walls. Which … worked to her advantage.

He still had a hold of her wrist and he took his free hand to wrap around her throat in warning. "Stab me and I'll tear your throat out," he growled out, which had her growling in response and narrowing her eyes as he started roughly searching her for bugs. She began to push on his shoulder with her loose hand, and when he let her slip down the wall to barely let her toes touch the ground, she was quick to reach up with the device - pressing it to the back of his neck before she managed the buttons.

With a little sound of irritation, Victor had his hand wrapped around her throat as promised and pulled her away from the wall only to slam her back into it a few times. She was seeing double as he growled low a few inches from her face and K held up her hand with the now-spent device - showing it to him before she let it fall to the ground. Which was when he started to visibly slow down. "What the hell is this?" he asked thickly as his grip started to slip on her, but that had him pulling her tighter to himself.

"Pretty sure it's karma," K replied, but she couldn't get out of his grasp as he went to the ground, collapsing almost entirely on top of her as the drugs kicked in. He was too big to push away when he had her pinned so awkwardly, and it wasn't until the first onlooker passed them by that she realized how it probably looked to someone from the street. Of course, when she got a look at his watch, she couldn't help but let out a sound of pure frustration. Fifteen minutes to be _stuck_ under Victor Creed.

Eventually, she heard the sound of a teleport before Kurt put his shoulder to Creed to move him. "Well. This is a predicament."

"He drooled on me," K said in a flat tone that surprisingly didn't hide how relieved she was to be rid of him.

"That is certainly offensive." He held out a hand to help her to her feet. "Mystique is dead."

"Oh, what a shame. If I'd had better leverage …" she let the statement fall and started to restrain Victor. "And that strict warning not to kill him."

"I didn't have that warning."

"No, you did not," she said. "Lucky boy." She made quick work of being sure Victor was secured before she looked up at Kurt. "I guess … ready when you are."

Kurt nodded and then teleported all three of them back to where Graydon was waiting. "Just the one?"

"Mystique is dead," Kurt said flatly.

"I'd be happy to finish this one off right now," K said, doing a fine job of keeping her smirk under control, even if she would have _loved _to do just that.

"Not just now," Graydon said, waving her off. "I'll tell you when I need you next."

As soon as the two of them were out of the room, K stopped and gave Kurt a significant look. "You catch that?"

"What? That he has our mother's sense of sadism?"

"That he _needs _us," K replied. "It's not pure sadism."

Kurt couldn't help but smirk. "Well. He isn't as stupid as he looks."

"I wouldn't go that far," K said dryly as they met up with the soldiers that would take them back to their cells. "I'm getting tired, sweet fuzzy blueberry."

Kurt took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Then you can sit the next one out," he said. "I'm sure my best friend and I can handle matters from here."

K gave him a tight smile as the two of them were led down to the cells to join the others.

Logan relaxed visibly when the two of them showed up, though he was frowning at the scents he was catching. But as usual, they were put in their separate cells, leaving the two ferals across the little hall from each other. And again, after a moment of what was clear _longing _the two of them retreated to their usual spots to curl up and watch each other while the rest of their team discussed what they could.

"Nothing good can come out of Graydon Creed asking for Sabretooth alive," Scott muttered. "We're lucky he still wants K alive or I doubt there would have been an equalizer."

"Which one wants her alive?" Kurt said. "It sounded like _Victor _had plans too. There was no blood shed today with them."

"What kind of- I don't want to know," Scott said.

"I can tell you first hand it's best not to try to figure him out," Jean said in a dark tone.

Scott nodded and leaned into her. "Either of them," he whispered.

"One thing we do know; neither Creed is going to give the other an inch," Jean whispered to him.

Scott let out a breath. "So long as we don't get caught in the middle…"

Jean kissed his forehead. "Something is due to go right."

"We'll see."

* * *

"So this is where the boy has you X-geeks stashed." Victor Creed's voice echoed off the walls as he stepped into the little cell block where most of the X-Men were being kept. It had been a little over a week since Sabretooth had been captured and the torture on the two ferals had ramped up as well, but now … . They were trapped and Creed was free. He was already splattered with blood and the emergency lights down the hall were flashing if the red pulsating light coming through the small window on the main door was any indicator. And yet … here was Victor Creed looking perfectly _livid _as he slowly walked through the cell block.

"Boy took his homework to heart, didn't he?" Victor said, though he certainly wasn't looking happy at all. He stopped in front of Storm's cell and stretched his hands out - letting his claws out when he flexed his fingers. He turned her way and let his sneer turn into a snarl. "I'll get back to you. I got business first."

He kept walking until he got to the end of the cell block where Logan and K were - on opposite sides of the hall, still and for a moment, Victor simply looked between the two of them with a growing smile. "Where to start, where to start …"

Logan began to growl low, more than ready to dive in after him, but that only had Victor turning his whole body slowly, showing Logan his back as he took the handful of steps toward K's cell while she got to her feet. "No drugs for you to cheat with this time, frail," Victor said, looking entirely livid with her as he unlocked the door. He let it swing wide open and left it that way, though he stood in the doorway - daring her to try to get by him. Not that it would have done her much good when he was blocking her path so clearly and itching to get a hold of her. For a moment she forgot that she was barefoot and in a dress after another little mission Graydon had sent her on. She had _nothing _to her advantage in this fight.

But still … K was more than willing to bring the fight to him. She was back to a fractured means of thinking with all the torture that had been handed down to her with no time to rest or to heal unless it was to go on an errand. Before anyone could say anything to her, she dove in, all snarls and claws. To start with, it was bloody and every bit the fight that K knew she had to put forth to keep her head above water against him. Victor was getting hits in, of course he was. The man's arms could reach from one side of the cell to the other if he only held them out - and K was fighting to keep a little distance, slashing at him when he'd get too close.

They were halfway into the fight when Logan realized he was on his feet as he watched them and almost holding his breath. Victor had been spewing all sorts of vitriol her way from the moment she'd rushed him. Not only calling her every filthy name under the sun, but outlining in vivid detail all the things he wanted to do to her. Only … the monologue was different from his usual torture diatribe in that he wasn't speaking as if that was what his plan was _now_. Only what it had _been_. K managed to ignore most of what Victor said … until he had bashed her backward then looked over his shoulder at Logan with a crooked smile stretching across his lips.

"You know that boy of yours was askin' for you just before they killed him," Creed said casually, and like he'd hoped, Logan froze. But more importantly, K did too.

Creed didn't snarl as he turned to snatch her up, lightning quick. Instead, he saved the growl for _after _he had a solid grip on her. His growl mixed with Logan's snarl and Kurt's as he quickly restrained K by knocking her strong arm out of socket, only to readjust how he had a grip on her. As he liked to do, one hand was curled tightly around her entire neck - the claw on his thumb digging into the hollow where her jaw met her ear as his index finger did the same on the other side of her skull. He had her pulled in tightly to him so both of them were facing Logan and on seeing the look of pure venom and outrage from Logan, Creed smiled slowly. He leaned in close over K's shoulder, moving her hair out of his way with his nose so his lips were brushing her ear when he spoke.

K was trembling - though not from Creed. Not at first. Not when she had just been told that her son was dead. The tears streaming down her cheeks had _nothing _to do with her current predicament. Not _yet. _

"This isn't how I wanted this to go, frail." He let the fingers in his free hand sink into her stomach - right below her ribs, though shocking those closest to her, K didn't let out a sound. "We _were _gonna have a good time, girly, but you went and got yourself caught up with little Graydon - and now I don't have the luxury of doin' this the way you deserve."

Victor shifted so that he was speaking over her opposite shoulder, though he was clearly watching Logan. "You're lucky I'm feelin' generous. For old times sake. So how about you give me a good scream. Just one ...and I'll make it go quicker." To accentuate his point, he dug his fingers into her belly more, articulating the lion's claws to make the cuts deeper and nastier.

K's face twisted in agony as she tried to squirm away from him - really only succeeding in pressing into him deeper and earning a dark chuckle from him.

"Come on now, be nice for your Uncle Victor," he half purred, shifting his cuts and moving the hand around her neck so he could at least threaten to bite her throat out - though his close proximity and his breath on her neck as he leaned closer paired with how _badly _he was hurting her was enough to get K to let out the tiniest, strangled little sound that wasn't quite identifiable as she tried to keep her composure in check.

It was all made that much worse when Victor grinned on hearing it and actually started shushing her _gently_ as he ran a hand over her hair and retracted his claws. "I wish I could say this was for Logan," Victor said softly, though even Kurt and Scott could hear it over Logan's growl. K had closed her eyes and was steadfastly refusing to look toward Logan even if it was painfully clear to everyone where it was going as Victor continued to quietly whisper things to her that K only answered by minutely shaking her head, not trusting herself to allow a noise to slip by her lips.

Victor glanced at the door when he heard soldiers boots well down the hall then leaned forward enough to gently kiss her cheek. His fingers wrapped around her neck again, squeezing hard this time as his other hand removed something from his back pocket. She was choking for how tightly Victor was squeezing - and when K tried to wriggle out of his grasp, his other arm went up toward the back of her head, lighting fast. There was an odd metallic scraping sound and two almost hollow snaps before Victor dropped first the broken dagger handle - and then K's lifeless body.

There was a full second of silence before every one of the X-Men was spewing invectives and threats, well beyond furious, though Logan was too shocked to join them.

"Thought you people knew not to get attached by now," Victor almost purred out at the outrage around him.

"Something you taught your son perfectly," Scott snapped at him.

"Never had a thing to do with him," Victor said easily as he started back down the cell block.

"Exactly."

But Victor smirked quietly to himself as he passed them. Which only had the rest of the group that much more furious.

But, surprising the X-Men anyhow, when the group of soldiers came into the cell block armed to the teeth with Graydon along with them, the younger Creed positively blew up when he saw that K was dead. "What did you _do_, you imbecile!" Graydon shouted - as close to a snarl as any of them had heard. "She wasn't supposed to die."

"Hell of a way to keep her alive," Scott shouted back.

"Stay out of this," Graydon snapped.

With a roar, Victor bounded forward and most of the X-Men found themselves hitting the deck as he tore through the soldiers between himself and Graydon. They were trying to fire off rounds, but of course, Victor was making the shots go wild as he ripped into them, not bothering to stop until he got a hold of Graydon, too. And shocking every single one of them, for once, Victor didn't try to _talk_ until after he'd broken Graydon's neck. "Made me waste a perfectly good weekend for a quick kill instead," he muttered to himself before he turned back around to look through the cells. Every one of them was beyond angry, but when he got to Logan - Logan was shaking in rage and hoping like hell Victor would open the damn door.

"Look at you," Victor said, tipping his chin up as he looked down his nose at Logan. "Still want to pretend like you're the same as these little heroes?" He leaned closer, his sneer twisting up his features. "Even your friends know that's a load of crap. And it's high freakin' time you just admitted it." Logan hadn't moved a muscle, even as Victor got closer still to the bars, smugly talking down to him.

The two of them stared at each other for far too long. "You're right," Logan said quietly, which was just enough to get a broad grin out of Victor and horrified looks from his teammates - just before Logan darted forward and reached through the bars to grab a hold of Victor around his neck. When he yanked him closer, he pulled to spin him so he could face the mess he'd made of K. Though that only seemed to fuel Logan's rage more.

Logan's arm was over Victor's windpipe and he was pulling back with everything he had - to the point that his feet were on the bars too as Logan threw his weight back, pushing with his legs to get every ounce of leverage he could as Victor tried to pry his arm off.

Victor pulled hard enough to dislocate Logan's shoulder, but it didn't slow Logan down from reefing that much harder on his own arm to finish the job, choking him out - and pulling back harder every time Victor tried to loosen up his hold. And as Victor was turning shades of purple people were never meant to turn, he made a last ditch effort to slice through Logan's arm - and Logan readjusted his grip slightly, popped his claws and simply took Victor's head clean off.

When Victor hit the floor, Logan did too, and after a moment to catch his breath, all Logan could do was stare across the hall at where K was still and lifeless with Victor's last taunts still ricocheting around in his head. The crash was a hard one, and the stunned silence from his teammates only fed the ringing in his ears as Logan started to come apart on himself. He'd tried so hard. Again. And again, he had _nothing_.

"Logan," Kurt said in an almost-whisper. "Logan, listen to me. We need to get out of here."

It took a few tries before Kurt seemed to cut through the haze, at least a little, and after Logan caught his breath, he reached through the bars to find the keys that Victor had used to open K's cell. When he found them, he got his door opened then headed for Kurt to free him - and then simply handed him the keys as he made a beeline for where K was still laid out. He didn't make a show out of it at all as he slid to the ground, gathered her up, and clutched her to his chest, wrapping himself around her as much as he was able.

Kurt unlocked Ororo's cell and had given _her _the keys before he went right to Logan, one hand on his shoulder as he crouched beside him. "I'm so sorry, _mein Freund_," he whispered, his own voice shaking, though he couldn't think of anything else to _say _as he sat beside Logan - while Ororo worked as quickly as she could to get the collars off the rest of them.

As the group was trying to lay out a plan - with Scott doing his best to come up with a strategy based on what Kurt could tell him about the layout beyond the basics that Scott had seen, Logan very quietly picked up one of the discarded collars that had slid close to him and held it for a long moment as he stared at K's unseeing eyes. Victor hadn't lied about his son. That much was clear. Logan would have caught a blatant lie like that. And on seeing that the little dagger he'd broken off in K was carbonadium, he knew that Victor had thought it through before he went after K. He still took a moment to _try _and revive her. But Victor had done a good job of making it stick, and Logan had no way to get the dagger _out_. Which meant even if there had been a window … he had no way of using it to bring her _back_.

Ideas were flying back and forth with the team as they came up with a game plan, and the group was sure they had a few solid options, though all of their forward progress came to a screeching halt when a sharp, echoing _snikt _superseded all other sounds in the room.

All at once, it was a different kind of chaos as Kurt teleported to Logan before he'd fully crumpled over, swearing at him in every language he knew plus a few that he only knew how to swear in from traveling with Logan and K. The blood was more than Kurt could stop, and the injury was instantly fatal anyhow. Especially since everyone had missed the fact that Logan had put a discarded collar on before he'd sent his claws up into his own head from under his chin.

Kurt panicked, trying to get the collar _off _of his best friend, hampered not only by the blood, but by the fact that the collar had locked again and Kurt couldn't hold back the sheer despair that his _brother _wasn't going to heal from this because of something this barbaric and simple.


	5. Too Far

******We're not done yet. Still More Major Character Deaths******

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Too Far**

* * *

While Kurt was loudly losing his cool, begging God and luck and _anything _he could think of to just _help him_, the rest of the cells were nearly still and silent. Ororo had a hand over her mouth as she tried to hold in a sob, her other hand braced against the wall just to stay upright. Scott was frozen in stunned horror as the blood drained from his face and Kurt's voice got less angry and more _desperate_\- and Jean… Jean had gone somewhere beyond the horror that Scott was feeling to something else entirely.

It was too much at once. Not just the captivity and torture but losing the professor, watching her husband hurt, worrying about their kids, hearing Victor's promises as he tortured a woman that had become a good friend that had helped _balance _their team out… then in the matter of _minutes _to lose James and K - and Logan, too. The fire started before she'd even thought about it, and once it did, there was no need to plan an exit strategy. The Phoenix was going to burn its way out of the compound; the X-Men simply had to stay ahead of it.

"Jean," Scott started to say, but when a deafening, heartbroken, rage-filled cry from the Phoenix was the answer, Ororo grabbed him by the arm to pull him toward the exit.

"We need to find the others," Ororo told him, making sure to keep her grip on him since he couldn't _see _the destruction of the compound around them. "Anyone that's left."

Scott would have argued, but Kurt teleported to the two of them and then teleported once more, getting them both out of the way of what would have been part of the wall collapsing. "I know where they are," he said, his voice rough with emotion and barely controlled before he teleported them both to the room he'd been to before to observe the kids- and then disappeared again, though he didn't exactly say what he was up to.

Ororo let out a soft "Oh, _Goddess_," before she handed one of the kids to Scott, though she didn't say who it was, and he didn't _know_.

Not until the little guy wrapped his arms around Scott's neck and quietly said. "Want my Daddy."

Scott froze and took a step back just to keep himself upright. But after a beat, he wrapped James up and held him tight. "I know, buddy," he breathed out. "Right now, we need to get out of here, okay? You hang on tight."

James tightened his grip a little, though it was clear he was still upset at seeing everyone _but _who he was looking for, especially when even as he was holding tight to Scott, he started calling for his Mom and Dad.

"James misses his Dad and Mom," Rachel said helpfully. She was holding Kitty's hand, and Ororo had Mia clutched tightly as the little girl happily babbled to her mom and snuggled into her shoulder. With Bobby - still stiff and sore - carrying Nate, that was everyone accounted for, though Ororo at least had the wherewithal to keep a hand on Scott's arm to steer him so it wasn't blatantly obvious to the kids that this was more than just an issue with no visor.

Their timing couldn't have been better, either. They had just spilled out onto the main floor when two destructive forces seemed to collide - a magnetic force that was ripping through the compound's above ground levels and the Phoenix force as it burned its way to the surface.

"What has happened to all of you?" Erik demanded. "Where's Charles?"

"I'm afraid we're all that's left," Ororo said when it was clear Bobby and Kitty didn't _know _and Scott was barely keeping it together as it was. "Kurt is… somewhere, and Jean…" She gestured toward the flames steadily growing beyond them.

But before Erik could even process that much, Kurt teleported up - with both Logan and K. He was determined not to leave them behind, though the singed fur was an indication of how close a call it had been.

"Gather closer," Erik said. "I'll … take you all away from this place."

"All of us," Kurt said, a sharp light in his gaze that none of them had ever seen before. "If I knew what they had done with Charles, I would bring him too. And I _will _find Ja-" He froze when he turned and saw the little boy in Scott's arms. James looked back at him with wide, teary eyes. Kurt teleported over to rest his hand on James' head, needing to just _touch _him to see that he was really there. When Kurt spoke, the unfairness and sorrow was palpable in his voice. "_Was is… nein, kleine junge…_."

"They're all alive," Ororo told him.

Kurt looked between the kids and then down at Logan and K before he swore all over again, closed his eyes, and then teleported to Ororo to steal a long kiss and to kiss Mia's forehead tenderly and run his hand gently over her hair. "Then we will ensure that nothing will threaten them again," he said soft enough that Ororo was the only one to hear it before Kurt teleported off again - this time close enough to Jean to catch her attention before he got closer still and then, all at once, the firebird and Kurt were both gone in a poof of swirling pink and purple.

Erik took in the scene for a moment before he looked down at Logan and K, frowning to himself when he saw the damage on both of them. And simply because it offended him, he removed the collar Logan was wearing and turned to Ororo and Scott. "The children shouldn't stay here while they … continue." He turned toward the downed ferals again with a barely restrained look of distaste. "And they should not see _that_."

"We're _not _leaving them," Kitty said, her gaze positively locked onto Logan. There were tear tracks down her face, and it was blatantly obvious that the only thing keeping her from breaking down into a puddle right there was the fact that Rachel had a death grip on her hand and was starting to cry as well - even if she didn't quite understand all that she'd seen. Kitty had tried, of course to block her view of the worst of it … but with death and misery all around them, it was inevitable that she'd have seen some of it.

"I'll stick with them," Bobby offered quietly, his tone one no one had heard from him before. "You guys take the kids… I'll wait with them and you can come back."

"Bobby," Scott started to say.

"Hey, I owe him," Bobby said. "I got it. Besides … the kids have been missing you. Probably had more than enough of me."

"We can put them near Jubilation," Erik said. "Once we get the children somewhere safe and Jean and Kurt return."

"They should be near one of the cabins," Kitty said, shaking her head. "But not … not right now."

"Later," Scott agreed, still holding onto James tight and unsuccessfully trying to keep the little guy from getting upset - since he didn't quite know how to angle him to keep him from seeing anything he wasn't supposed to. And for how still James had been since Kurt had teleported off, Scott suspected that he'd seen much more than he should have.

"Yes. It's long past time you all left this place," Erik said quietly before he raised his arms and picked up a considerably large section of sheet metal that all of them were standing on. In a moment, he'd curled up the edges and they were on their way to Genosha.

As soon as they were in the air, the rescued X-Men lapsed into near-silence, though not everyone was old enough to fully understand what was going on. Which was how a two-year-old Nate wound up peeking over the edge of the metal and smiling up at Erik. "Fast," he giggled.

Erik couldn't help but to spare the little boy a muted smile, though he didn't slow their progress down one iota. "Stay back from the edge, young man," Erik told him gently.

"Okay," Nate said, though he was still peeking anyway - at least until Kitty managed to pull him back and he was distracted by trying to join into the snuggle Scott had almost enforced with James. On seeing the two boys curled up with her father, Rachel immediately wanted to join as well, leaving Scott with a little boy in each arm and his daughter attached to his side where he was sitting toward the center of the metal - while the rest of the X-Men sat in silence around him, warily watching their blinded leader. Kitty had her knees drawn up to her chest with her arms around her shins, shoulders shaking as she tried to keep her grief as silent as possible. Hank was simply shell shocked - as were most of them, and Ororo kept her full focus on her little girl, quietly humming one of Kurt's lullabies as she rocked Mia.

When it got a little too crowded with Scott when Nate fell asleep, James tried to wriggle away from the pile of Summerses. "Wait," Scott said. "Wait until we get to the ground, okay, buddy?"

James squirmed a little but settled back down with little more than a soft sigh that Scott could _feel _spoke volumes of how scared and out of sorts the little boy was. "I'm sorry. I promise you can run around when we get settled," Scott said.

James frowned at that, though Scott obviously didn't see it, and he was too tired and _lost _to fight with him, so instead, he just rested his head on Scott's shoulder and went limp, which was evidence enough to anyone that knew him that he really didn't _want _to run around.

* * *

Meanwhile, Bobby was still keeping up his vigil over the two Howletts when he heard the whine of an engine outside the wreckage and narrowed his eyes, getting stiffly to his feet before he iced up and stood guard in front of Logan and K. He didn't know who these newcomers were, but all things considered, he was sure this was more bad news.

"Looking for a fight, Drake?" Tony Stark's voice echoed out before he appeared a few moments later - fully armored up and looking like at least _he _was ready for a fight.

Bobby relaxed slightly when he saw it, but he stayed iced up - and in front of Logan and K. "You're so late it's not even funny," he said.

"Giant firebird left, huh?" Tony asked as he touched down - and made his way closer.

"Yeah. That's… still a problem. But that's not what I'm talking about," Bobby said before he stepped slightly aside - at least enough for Tony to see just who he was watching out for. And why.

"What the hell," Tony breathed out as the faceplate shifted out of his way. "What _happened_?"

"Short version?" Bobby crossed his arms. "The Friends of Humanity ambushed us."

"They're not _smart enough _to off these two," Tony pointed out, staring in shock at the two dead ferals.

"Yeah?" Bobby gestured to Logan and K. "Well, give them weeks of nonstop torture, bring in Victor Creed and tell them their son is dead? I mean, I wasn't there but even I know how that was going to end."

Tony looked more wide-eyed. "The kid too?" he asked quietly.

Bobby shook his head quickly. "No. That was a lie to screw with them, I guess. James, Rachel, Nate, Mia - they're on their way with the _survivors _to Genosha." He let out a long breath that showed how tired he was. "You're late. So _damn _late."

"No kidding," Tony agreed softly as he made his way over to kneel down next to them still not believing that they were _both _just … gone.

"I don't suppose you know where the Phoenix went after it left here," Bobby asked as he de-iced and sat down heavily.

"I've got satellites tracking," Tony said distractedly as Steve rounded the corner and outright stopped.

"Gonna be hard to follow. Nightcrawler is with her."

"Yeah, that would explain the sudden bursts of fire," Tony said, then turned to look up at Steve. "We screwed up. _So bad_."

"What…" Steve was just staring at Logan and K, still stopped at the corner. And when he did look up to see a de-iced Bobby who was still not back to normal human colors after the beating Logan had given him, he looked furious. "What happened? I thought this was a Phoenix issue."

"No," Bobby said tiredly. "But I'm sure that's the only problem the guy screening your calls would find even though we're in the middle of a building full of nothing but genocide. The Phoenix didn't even come into play until Jean lost it when Logan…" He gestured with one hand. "Where are they hitting? That's a very special combination of fury and hurt that I only wish on my worst enemies…"

Tony drew his attention away from K and Logan and consulted his on board computer even as his suit started a scan on both of the bodies. "Looks like all the known FoH and MRD facilities right now … at least … that's what the dozen or so that are already leveled were."

"Yeah. Well. I'm too tired to act like that's a bad thing," Bobby said, leaning forward to rest his head in his hands. With the Avengers there, he was really starting to crash.

"You wanna head to the quinjet, take a load off?" Tony offered. "We'll bring them with."

"I promised not to leave 'em," Bobby said.

"Then let's get them out of here before someone that's actual trouble comes pokin' around," Tony said before he looked up at Steve. "C'mon, Cap. We gotta take 'em home."

Steve nodded slowly at that, finally kicking away from the corner he'd been leaning on to keep himself upright in favor of going to Logan, while Tony was sure to pull K into his arms as they headed to the Quinjet. It had just been the two of them, since the other Avengers were spread out trying to put out literal and figurative fires in the wake of the Phoenix attacks, so there wasn't anyone else in the jet to see the mess the Howletts were as the Avengers set them down and Bobby sat down close to them, his hands shaking as he watched the whole thing.

Steve was frowning hard but didn't say anything until he was sitting up front with Tony. And even then, it was just a quiet, "Tony…"

"Yeah," Tony breathed out. "Looks like a regular Romeo and Juliet thing, doesn't it?"

"How did it get that bad that fast?" Steve asked in a breath.

"I think … it's been worse than we thought for a long time," Tony said. "Obviously."

"Obviously."

A few moments passed between them before it was clear how _angry _Tony was. "Damnit, this is exactly the kind of thing we made the Avengers to _stop_. Why is it that our calls so rarely go to help mutants? Who's in charge of that?"

"I don't know, Tony," Steve said warily. "We handed that side of things over to SHIELD years ago."

Tony was agitated as he thought it over and glanced back at the bloodied couple only long enough to let out a bitter sound from the back of his throat. "This never should have happened. They never should have gotten anywhere close to them - _we should have paid more attention when they told us how bad it was._" He was barely keeping his temper in check - and only because he could see how traumatized Bobby was. "I'm gonna get to the bottom of this, Cap."

"We both will." Steve glanced back at the three mutants in their hold. "I didn't catch where we're headed."

"Magneto picked them up, so … "

Steve frowned at that. "Are we running a rescue from _Genosha_? We've already got the Phoenix to deal with…"

"I don't' think this is a rescue, Cap," Tony said. "Sounds more like Magneto was the one to get them out of danger. If it makes you feel better - which I'm sure it won't- he was late too."

"Really doesn't," Steve muttered and glanced back again, though he didn't actually voice any further opinion on the matter.

"Scanners show that she got a carbonadium blade in the back of the head along with a dislocated neck," Tony said quietly. "Half a dozen other more minor _to her_ injuries …"

"And him?"

Tony drew in a deep breath and clearly didn't want to respond right away, though when it was clear Steve was still waiting … "Self inflicted."

All of the wind left Steve's sails, and he glared out the window. "How did we miss this, Tony," he said after a long, _long _silence.

"I don't know," Tony replied. "Not like we can fix it at this point. All we can do is stop it from happening anymore."

"Yeah," Steve said, though he didn't say anything further until they were nearly to Genosha, at which point he surprised Tony by taking over on the message declaring their business and requesting permission to land. "We've got Iceman, Wolverine, and K," he said in a businesslike tone. "We're just bringing them home - and want to make sure the rest of their group is in one piece."

A few moments later, they were granted permission to land, though Tony was nervous going in. It was more than a little disconcerting to have Magneto meet them there himself - though they _had _been expecting someone a little higher up the chain of command than Kitty to be there when they landed.

"We'll take care of them," Kitty said, though her eyes were red and puffy and her voice was hoarse.

"I can help," Steve offered.

Kitty blinked at him before she nodded, though Erik was already shaking his head. "We have a place prepared for them until we can find a suitable burial site," he said. "I can manage. Katherine, please show Robert where he'll be staying." With that, he turned his wrists in a graceful gesture and both Logan and K rose up from where they'd been laid out. A moment later, the bodies floated past the Avengers - and Erik left with the Howletts in tow.

Kitty gave Tony and Steve a tight smile before she turned to Bobby. "Okay. Well. I guess I'll just…"

"Miss Pryde, I'm so sorry about all of this. Please, let us know when the service is," Steve said, sounding a lot more like himself with all the bluster gone.

Kitty paused and looked Steve's way before she nodded. "There's… a lot," she admitted. "I don't know how soon it will be when Jean and Kurt are still, you know…"

"Can't really blame them," Tony said before he managed to hand her a card. "Give a call either way. We'll make time."

"Right. He was on your team too." Kitty gave him a small ghost of a smirk. "Sometimes."

"Goes back a little more than that," Steve said quietly. "But yeah. That too."

Kitty paused and looked Steve over more carefully. "Do you want to stick around or are you just dropping Bobby off? Everyone's in the living room - Magneto gave us a house to stay in…"

"I … doubt we're welcome," Steve said.

"Just don't start anything. The way Scott's going, you'll stress him into a heart attack," Kitty warned.

"I really do want to see how everyone is doing," Steve said. "Offer my support. So if it's alright … we'll come along."

Kitty nodded. "Just a warning," she said over her shoulder as she led the way, "you bring up Professor Xavier and I'll phase you into a loading dock."

"What … what's the deal with him?" Tony asked, unable to leave it alone.

"He died," Kitty said flatly.

"Did you lose anyone else?" Tony asked.

"Yes." Kitty looked over her shoulder. "We're not talking about it. Especially not when Jean is playing Phoenix. That has historically not ended well."

"Got it. Just trying to keep a running list of who not to talk about," Tony said.

"If you don't see them, assume they're dead or in danger of dying," Bobby said dryly. "It's been that kind of a week."

"Fair enough," Steve agreed with his eyebrows high in surprise before he shot Tony a look and they fell into step behind Bobby and Kitty.

Eventually, they did reach the house - which was within sight of Magneto's looming tower. And as Kitty had said, most of the people on the team were in the living room, unable to relax while they watched the spotty news coverage of the Phoenix attacks and took stock of themselves. Mia was asleep on Ororo, who was ashen as she watched the footage. Hank had managed to get Nate to let go of his fur long enough to set him back on his shoulders, though Rachel was tucked into Scott's side and James was leaning on his shoulder. It didn't escape the Avengers' notice that all the X-Men looked … _spent_ in addition to the more obvious physical signs, not least of which were the wraps on Scott's eyes and head.

Tony and Steve shared a look and made their way over to Scott, taking the closest available seats. "Scott. How are you hanging in there?" Steve asked. "Looks like you've got good support with the little ones, anyhow."

Scott frowned at the new voice and visibly straightened. "We're fine," he said shortly, unconsciously tightening the arm that was draped around James. "He's my godson. He'll be fine."

"He _looks _fine where he's at," Steve agreed, even as he gave James a little wave and tried to look friendly. James watched him for a long moment, and instead of his usual playful self, he simply turned away from Steve and seemed to melt into Scott's side.

And while Steve was trying and failing to navigate the rough waters of small talk with Scott, Tony had flat out ignored that any such thing existed and dove right to scanning Scott quietly to himself … which … was more than enough to keep him quiet when the results came in with undeniably distinctive treble slashes that were still freshly healed.

Finally, Scott leaned forward. "I know you're here about Jean," he said bluntly.

"Actually, we were _there _for Jean," Steve said. "We're here for … well. We gave Bobby a ride, among other things."

"Alright. Then I'll ride back with you," Scott said. "She just…she needs something to hang onto to get it back under control. If I can get there-"

"To be frank, the places she's wrecking? No one on our side is going to stop her," Tony said.

"They're not the ones I'm concerned about."

"I understand," Tony agreed. "I'm just saying, we _know _this isn't in our skill set, and we're not stupid enough to piss off the giant firebird any more."

"First time for everything," Scott said dryly. He got to his feet. "Like I said, I'll talk her down. Someone has to."

"Alright," Steve agreed, though when Scott tried to get James to let go, it was clear the little guy wasn't having it. At all.

"James, you can't come," Scott said quietly. "This is too dangerous for you."

"_No_," James replied stubbornly, holding on that much tighter.

Scott let out a breath and then turned to Tony. "If this goes badly, put him in a suit and get him out and don't let him see it," he said without any room for argument. "He's been through too much already."

"I'll make sure he gets out safe," Tony said, though he looked more than a little confused at how the little guy was running a racket on Scott like that.

"Fine." Scott took a second to give Rachel and Nate both a kiss before, with James still attached to his neck, he gestured for the two Avengers to lead the way. "Let's go get my wife."

* * *

It took a longer than Steve and Tony had anticipated to get caught up to the Phoenix, if only because just as they were about to catch up, Kurt teleported them again, and they had to find out where those two were headed before they could catch up again.

This time, the two of them had managed to find more trouble than before, upending a government facility - though it was on top of a Sentinel factory so neither was going to survive the Phoenix fire.

Of course, even without seeing it, Scott could feel the extreme heat of the Phoenix fire and could hear in their connection that there was only hurt. There was very little of Jean in the fire. The rage of the Phoenix was getting stronger with every act of destruction.

Even Kurt had burned through enough of his rage to see it, if the pleading the Avengers could hear was any indication. "I can't even get close to you, Jean," Kurt was saying as they arrived. "I can keep going but I can't _help_ if you don't rein it in!"

Scott shook his head when he heard it and didn't bother to shout, instead reaching through their connection. _Jean, I need you back. Please._

But that seemed to be the wrong avenue to take, because, when Jean paused for a second to look his way, the fact that he was tired and hurt and holding James hit all the wrong buttons. James being there was proof of how pointless it had been for Logan to give up, and Scott was a reminder of everything else that had been done to them. She looked them both over… and the flames got that much hotter.

"Stark, get James out of here," Scott said, though he didn't move from where he was, either, too focused on trying to get through to Jean.

Tony moved to get a hold of James, and as he picked him up from Scott, the little guy started to put up a fight, staring up at the firebird in the sky with tear streaks easy to see on his cheeks. "No! Want Scoot an' _Eeenie_!"

"James, let go," Scott said as James struggled. "You need to be _safe."_

By that time, James was flat out crying for Jean, but he was also far too little to argue with them. For just a moment, Jean turned in time to see it as James was holding his hands up to her, his little voice hitching as he called out quieter and quieter for her. And for a moment, the flames drew back - just a bit. Jean was in control - just long enough to really feel the injustice of it all. And just long enough to feel the pure heartbreak that the Phoenix really needed to really start sinking its talons into her.

Tony took James and held him tight until James gave up and buried his face in Tony's shoulder - just before Tony got him out of there leaving Scott and Steve to deal with the rest of the mess.

_Jean, come on. We need to get home. The kids … we need to be there. James needs us too. You know it._

Even if the fires were burning bright, Steve could see the difference as Jean looked toward Scott. It wasn't the same fury as the Phoenix had alone, and Steve could see that she was struggling for control, her face contorted with the effort.

Kurt teleported to where Scott and Steve were, frowning over the familiar scene. "They share a telepathic connection," he explained to Steve, since he had no idea what the Avengers did and didn't know.

"That certainly explains a lot," Steve said quietly, though he kept his focus on watching Jean. "Tony just got James out of here. I don't think him tagging along helped at all."

"She's fighting it," Kurt argued. "She needs something good. The Phoenix feeds on anger, destruction, all the worst things…" He let his shoulders drop. "I'm sorry. I have only been feeding that… My best friend…he ..."

"I know," Steve said. "We saw what happened to them. I'm sorry, Kurt."

"Yes." Kurt looked toward Jean, who had her gaze locked on Scott as she tried to fight the Phoenix. "So much has happened, Captain. So much that can never be undone."

"I just don't understand how it happened so _fast_," Steve said in a breath.

Kurt frowned and turned his way fully. "Captain, I wouldn't call this fast. 'Fast' is a mob whipped up in a frenzy at a whim to kill a blue demon or turn against a goddess of the weather. This was planned, careful murder and torture. There was nothing 'fast' about it."

Steve let his shoulders drop at that. "I know. It's not .. I'm not being clear. We couldn't find where you all had gone, and honestly - thought you were hitting them back." He turned toward Kurt. "I don't mean anything cold by it, I don't. But a couple weeks to those two … even in the worst circumstances ... "

"Do you know how Logan died?" Kurt asked, his tone almost as deep as a low growl.

"Only that he did it to himself," Steve replied. "I still don't understand how-"

"Until today, he was only on the edge," Kurt said, though he had turned his gaze from Steve to the fire. "He … he was close already. They killed Jubilee. They held our children over our heads and ordered him to torture and mutilate our teammates or the children would pay for it. And when Victor Creed told him his son was dead then tortured and killed his wife in front of him - in front of _all _of us, what on Earth would keep him here?" He asked, though Steve could hear the bitterness ringing in his tone as Kurt's composure cracked.

What little was left for Steve to hold on with was clearly gone and he stared back at Kurt as if he'd been slapped. "I didn't know it happened like that."

"There is a lot you never knew." When Steve looked like he was reeling and had no response, Kurt simply turned his attention back to the Phoenix, his eyes narrowed as he abruptly changed the subject. "She should have gotten control by now."

The Phoenix had taken Jean higher into the air than before, and the firebird in the sky was far bigger than before - despite Scott's best efforts. It was clear he was trying everything, even on his knees and begging Jean to pull it back. And she was trying with everything she had. She was. But she was _losing._

The last time this had happened, Logan had been the one to stop it. And even when Jean had come back, Kurt knew Logan had always considered it his job to step in if things ever got that bad again. But Logan wasn't _there _to stop it when Jean's face contorted in agony as she fought with tears in her eyes against the cosmic firebird whispering lies and promises in her ear. All that she could ever want could be hers … if only she'd _give in_ and let go.

But Jean was still psychically linked to Scott. And even if no one else could hear it …. Scott heard every lie. Every empty promise. He saw the world the Phoenix promised it could give her - with all of their friends and the professor back to life, alive and whole … and God help him, the idea of it all being _undone _was enough to make Scott's heart ache even though he too, knew it was a hollow lie. It was so strong a picture though. Such a deep temptation... and it was more than Jean could fight when all she wanted was her life back - and the lives of those she loved who had been discarded like simple garbage.

And it wasn't just the team. Jean could see her parents and her sister, Sara, who had died a few years earlier, smiling and laughing as she tossed Nate in the air, only to let him down gently so he could rush off and play with a grinning and laughing James - both of whom looked to be a couple years older than they were right now. It was a glimpse of a future that Jean _desperately _wanted deep down in her bones. The knowledge that it was ultimately a lie … and that if given the chance, the Phoenix would destroy everything and everyone that Jean held dear … _No._

But she couldn't stop it. She wanted to, she wanted to _so _badly, but there wasn't enough strength left in her to fight it back and even as she tried to reach through the psychic connection with Scott in a last-ditch effort to have him help build her up stronger - she could feel the fire taking a deeper hold on her mind. All she wanted in that moment was her _husband_. But it wasn't enough. Her face contorted and she drew in a sobbing breath even as the breath was knocked _out _of Scott for how deeply in despair she was.

As Kurt watched, Jean closed her eyes and tipped her head back, and a screech rent the air. When she looked their way again, there was no recognition in her gaze, and that was what decided it for Kurt.

"Get Scott out of here," he told Steve over his shoulder as he unsheathed both swords.

"What? Why? What can you even _do _against the Phoenix?" Steve asked, pulling himself together. "Kurt -" He shook his head as he watched Jean and the fires growing faster than before - hotter and wilder. "There can't be much that can be done."

"No," Kurt agreed. "We have very limited options." He took a deep breath and gave Steve a tight smile. "Please, when you talk to Ororo, don't tell her how much I regretted egging Jean on." With that, before Steve could object, Kurt stepped back and teleported away leaving Steve in the quickly dissipating brimstone.

He reappeared exactly where he meant to be, both swords thrust out so that even if the fires around him and Jean were too hot, both of his swords were through her chest before the metal could melt.

For just a moment, the whole world seemed to stand still. Kurt and Jean were both suspended in the air, and even the fire around them paused as the Phoenix flickered from Jean's eyes giving her one last private moment in her connection with Scott before the fire went out. All at once, the world began to move again and Jean and Kurt simply dropped from the sky.


	6. Don't Shoot The Messenger

_A/N - practicallyanavenger - I'm sorry you can't. Hang in there, it gets better. pinkie promise. Of course ... there is still some worse? But ... you're more or less past the worst of the blunt force trauma section of damage._

* * *

**Chapter 6 - Don't Shoot The Messenger**

* * *

Without even thinking about it, Steve just started running to where Jean and Kurt had fallen, one hand at his comm, shouting for _someone _to get there and help, but of course, it was really only the little group that had come that was left, and while Steve was panicking, Tony made his way back with James.

"I know this is a bad time, but I need to go help Cap, and you said to keep James from seeing anything else, so …" Tony very gently handed James back to Scott with whispered instructions for James to keep an eye on Scott before he rushed over to both assess the situation and to get Steve to breathe again.

Of course, Scott had known the second Jean was gone, even if he hadn't seen how it happened. One minute, he was talking with her in their minds and the next, it was deafeningly quiet. And he was barely conscious enough to take James before the little guy hugged him, and Scott wrapped himself around James. He wasn't able to do much more than that, but it was clear to anyone that saw the two of them that James was doing his level best to wipe Scott's face of tears while quietly sniffling himself.

Tony did what he could to settle out Steve while a transport was called in to gather up the two fallen X-Men. Had they been in a situation without a little kid, he'd have just dealt with them himself, but … for how much James had wanted his Aunt Jean … and for how close he knew the kid was to the Elf, he didn't even want to attempt it. Once the transport arrived, he made his way over to Scott and James and dropped down to sit with the two of them. "We can help with the little ones, if it gets to be too much," Tony offered quietly.

"No." Scott kept one hand on the back of James' head. "They need to be safe."

"Then at least … let me come up with something to help you see again," Tony said.

"Why." In just the one word, Tony could hear just how much Scott didn't trust the offer.

"Because like you said, they need to be safe," Tony replied. "And no better judgement call on them than you. Obviously Logan knew what he was doing when he picked you."

Scott froze, his mouth slightly open, before he let out a wordless noise. "Fine."

"Like it or not, Summers, we're going to do all we can to help, and I know that has to sound hollow coming off of all of this, but … we know we blew it."

"No kidding."

Again, the group made the trip to Genosha, and this time, on the way back, Steve tried to at least attempt to check on James as well as Scott. But that was shut down fast when James pushed him away with a stern sounding 'no' that was laced with a touch of a growl.

"I got him," Scott said quietly, angling his body so he was between James and Steve.

"I see that," Steve said, letting out a weary sigh as he watched the two of them. James had _never _done that with him and it stung, if he was being honest. "Tony's offering a place for you all to use until you decide where you want to be. And … that should give you time to make your arrangements. I can't even begin to say how sorry I am about all of this, Scott."

"Yeah." Scott had his eyes covered, but even if he hadn't, he wouldn't have been able to look at Steve. "Yeah. There's a … we have an arrangement with Magneto."

"So they'll be in Genosha then?" Steve asked quietly, hoping that Scott didn't plan to turn to Magneto as a permanent solution.

"Maybe only until I can set something up," Scott said slowly. "I"m not sure yet."

"That's what Tony was offering," Steve said, watching him openly. "Anything you need."

"My kids safe are in Genosha," Scott said. "My team…"

"I know, we're headed there now," Steve agreed. "I'm not trying to divert you. I'm just trying to make sure you know there are other options available."

Scott nodded, though it was clear to Steve that he was still trying to process everything and wasn't quite up to thinking. "I know a little place. I took James fishing there before. It's Logan's."

"I'll make sure the jet you take doesn't have any tracking capabilities," Steve said. "No reason for anyone to bother you."

"Good." Scott nodded. "I need to keep them safe."

It was uncomfortably quiet for a short moment as Steve tried to find something to say that might help. "I know for a fact that James destroyed Tony on a level I didn't know was possible. If you say the word, you'll have him bending over backwards to do anything you want. All of us will, really."

"I just need my kids and …" Scott paused. "I … I'll let you know. We had a good security system before. Only reason he got in was he blew it up."

Steve let out a breath. "When word gets out … on top of the best Tony can come up with, I know for a fact you'll have Natasha invested. Might not mean too much to you, but she might surprise you."

"Fine. But they're the only two who can come. I don't need their location getting out. You know how dangerous that is."

"Understood," Steve said, nodding to himself. "No one else."

"Fine." Scott leaned back with James.

The rest of the flight to Genosha was quiet, and when they made their request to land, again, neither of them was surprised when they had the same group to meet them on the landing strip, but this time, it was Tony that took the initiative to go talk with Erik. "We're leaving them both quinjets," Tony told him. "I'm working on something for Scott to enable him to see, you can run it by your tech people when I get it done - there will be no GPS, no trackers or tracers of any kind on anything, but I'll need to come back to make sure that it works right."

"You'll understand if I don't take your word for it and insist on my own labs."

"That's fine," Tony said, nodding at that. "I have a list - if you don't have some of the components here, I can arrange for them to get here without anyone else stepping foot on your soil." He didn't try to hide the clear regret in his voice. "I know it's late, but I need to do what I can to help now. And I can help."

"Clean up the mess you never bothered to help prevent," Erik said, not bothering to keep his own anger hidden.

And surprising Erik, Tony simply nodded in agreement. "If there's anything left of the labs of the people that started this mess, I will go in myself and take them apart."

Erik watched him for any sign of a lie and then very slowly nodded. "Yes," he said slowly. "If we can salvage his sight, then at least _one _of Charles' children can be saved."

"All due respect, there is no 'if' in this equation," Tony said. "I'll make it happen."

"Then I hope to see you quickly."

Tony held up both arms. "Just tell me where I need to go. I'll start right now."

Erik watched Tony carefully before he gestured with one hand - and Wanda joined them, looking worn as well. But she did smile tightly when she saw Tony.

"Mister Stark will be working in our labs. Under careful supervision," Erik said pointedly.

Tony turned to Wanda, doing his best to ignore Erik's warning, or at least pretend like he didn't care about it even as the armor he was still wearing vibrated slightly. "I have an idea, but I need a lot of very small parts. I can get Pepper to package them up into part of a suit to get them here, if you want to catch them."

Wanda nodded and made it a point to take Tony's arm, which at least had the vibration letting up slightly. Though it wasn't until they were out of earshot that she told Tony in a low tone, "The way he's feeling right now, I'm not sure it was such a good idea to come in the suit, Tony. He's ready to go to war over this."

"I don't blame him," Tony said softly. "I wasn't kidding, either. If there are any traces left of the people that started this, I'll be right there burning them to the ground."

Wanda glanced up at him before she broke form and gave him a kiss on the spot on his armor where his cheek would be. "If Jean left anything of them at all, I will wipe them from existence." She glared and settled back on her heels. "They killed my brother."

"I know," Tony said quietly. "And both of the Howletts are gone."

"I heard. I don't know how Kurt is going to deal with that, but I don't blame him for giving the Phoenix a joyride."

Tony stopped and opened up the faceplate so she could read his expression. "No, Wanda … Kurt died with Jean. He killed her."

Wanda froze. "...what?"

"That's why we're here. We brought them back - Cyclops tried to talk her down, but it didn't work …"

Wanda narrowed her eyes and then shook her head, holding her arms tight to herself. "I'm tired of this, Tony. This is why I agreed to come here to stay with my father in the first place."

"I know," Tony said softly. "And as far as I'm concerned, we're not standing in anyone's way when it comes to stopping genocide. I didn't know it was this bad."

Wanda frowned and then put her hand on Tony's arm. "I wish you hadn't lost your innocence, you know."

"I wish we hadn't lost our friends," Tony countered.

"Me too." She led him around a corner to where the elevator would take them down to the lab but didn't say anything until they arrived. "If this doesn't work, get out of here fast. I know you think you're God but I'm just warning you now…"

"It'll work," Tony said. "I know exactly how much trouble I'm facing, and if I can't do this … well … maybe it'd be earned."

"Not really," Wanda said, frowning up at him. "Tony… I didn't think you liked Scott that much…"

"It's not about him. He's got three little kids depending on him now," Tony said. "And he can't do right by them if he can't _see _them. Just James on his own … the kid doesn't say much - and I know. He's little, but he gets his point across with _looks_, you know?"

"Billy does the same thing," Wanda said. "It's not easy."

"Right, so just imagine trying to keep track of Billy without being able to _see _him." Tony gave her a look. "I have to do something."

"So when are you and Pepper going to have your own then?" Wanda asked, a quiet smirk at the corner of her mouth.

"Ought to get married first, don't you think?" Tony said, quietly bristling at the question.

"You haven't done that yet? Really, Tony, I've been gone for how long…?"

Tony hedged and shrugged one shoulder as he quietly shook his head.

"Give me a wedding, Tony. We need something - _anything _\- good right now."

"I'd need a bride first," Tony said, finally turning to face her. "And Pepper's not it. If you must know."

Wanda looked honestly surprised. "You were head over heels when I left!"

"Yeah, and when I wasn't moving fast enough for her, she started trying all kinds of … jealousy… games, you know what … I don't really want to talk about it."

Wanda let out a breath and squeezed his arm. "I'm sorry."

"Its fine," Tony said. "She and Happy are making an honest run at it." He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "But hey - you might get an invite to that if you're really hard up for weddings."

"Maybe," Wanda said. "I just need something to go right. Just one thing."

"Against all sense, I've got a few dozen drones deployed at the original FoH base - just to see what, exactly the damage was - how many mutants were killed there in this last … mess. When I get the numbers, I'll let you know. If you'd like. Also low-key looking for Xavier. Figure they ought to be able to have all of them for the services if they can." Tony was frowning to himself as he stopped at the bench that had a whole slew of tools and supplied laid out. "In the meantime …" He looked around the lab. "At least I can get started while I wait for my parts."

Tony gave Wanda a muted, forced smile and then stepped out of his suit as he got to work at an almost frantic, concentrated pace that Wanda had seen him fall into so many times before.

* * *

As for the rest of the survivors, no one really had to ask what had happened once Scott and James got back. They'd seen that specific kind of hurt before.

Ororo had been holding it together with strings and tape until then, but that… seeing Scott so broken … and with the glaring absence of Kurt … she knew what the score was even before it was confirmed and _that _burst through all of the strings and tape and _hope _she'd been clinging to. The dark black storm clouds that had been gathering and swirling overhead finally let loose with an earth rumbling peal of thunder that hid her sob, and the citizens of Genosha sought shelter from the tempest the goddess inadvertently created as nature itself wept along with her.

Rachel was old enough that she knew what was going on, even if her ability to grasp how the permanence was a little shaky. The basics were really all she needed to know, though. For instance, she knew her dad was sad and that a lot of her friends were gone.

Nate and James had fallen asleep with Scott, but Rachel slipped over to Ororo and put her hand on Ororo's knee. "I love you, Stormy," Rachel said earnestly. "Lots and lots okay?"

Storm took a moment to give Rachel's hand a squeeze. "And I You," she said, though Rachel was frowning at her wet face.

Rachel rubbed her face against Ororo's side as she snuggled in. "I'm sad too," she said quietly. "Everyone is sad."

"They are," Ororo agreed, trying to smile for the little girl.

"Do you need a hug?"

"Always, little one."

Rachel nodded and then wrapped her arms around Ororo's middle, listening to the rain against the roof of the house, which was enough to soothe the goddess at least a little bit.

* * *

Over the next few days, the surviving X-Men were visited by not only Scott's brother and sister in law, who were clearly destroyed, but Wanda made sure to come by as well. She only hesitated to bring the twins along, all things considered. Not because she didn't trust the group - but she didn't want them overwhelmed by a pair of highly curious and helpful little boys. Not until the kids from Westchester started to show some kind of emotion other than _numb_, anyhow. She knew that Billy in particular would bend over backwards to _help_. And she wasn't sure watching those affected that it was the right time. Yet.

For as fast and dedicated that Tony was to his project … in the end, it took more time for Magneto's people to clear Tony's work than it took for Tony to create new bionic eyes for Scott, but finally, after what felt like forever to Tony, several of Magneto's people brought Scott to the lab so Tony could make sure that what he'd created for Scott was going to work properly for him.

"Sorry it took so long," Tony said as he took a seat near the bench, his tools close at hand.

Scott let out a breath as he sat down. "It's fine. Rachel is making a game of telling me everything she sees so I haven't gone without."

"So you know, this isn't _just _a fitting," Tony said. "They should be done. All of it. This is for tiny adjustments and confirmation that it'll work for you."

Scott tipped his head to the side. "Yes, well, we'll see what you've got. Nate picked out my glasses so if they're really that offensive to you…" it was the first attempt at wry humor he had made, and Tony somehow wasn't surprised it was dark humor.

"No, you don't understand," Tony said before he let out a breath. "You can keep the glasses. Whatever glasses you want. That won't impact what I made." He sat back while Magneto's staff came over to do the actual fitting with Scott. "The only thing I wasn't sure of was the color."

"Oh, I'm boring. They were brown," Scott said dryly.

"Well, I went with blue," Tony said.

"Fine by me. Nate will like that."

There were a few semi-uncomfortable moments as the doctors finished and then Tony quietly gave him a moment to process. Scott blinked his eyes as the bionics powered on … and slowly, for the first time in weeks, he could _see_. Scott looked like he was in shock as he slowly took in the details of the room and the doctors were watching both Scott and Tony carefully, which was when Tony spoke up again. "We have a whole slew of color and focus tests when you're ready."

"Yeah." Scott was still looking around. "I'm not used to … color."

"That actually makes sense," Tony said. "I rushed this set though. I can change anything you don't like."

"No, that's not what I meant," Scott said. "I just meant - it's been a long time since I saw anything other than red. Let me get used to it."

"Then maybe I should wait to tell you the other features," Tony said slowly.

"No, go ahead," Scott said.

"Alright, so, you can _ask _for night vision or infrared. It's keyed to your voice only so no one will be able to tweak that for you," Tony said. "When I get back to my lab, I already have ideas for a better pair that will have scanners that will help you with threat assessment - not too much different than the stuff I have onboard my suit."

Scott finally turned to look at Tony and blinked a few times in obvious surprise. "That… will help immensely."

Tony nodded and let out a breath of obvious relief. "Alright. Well. Consider this the starter version."

"Thank you." Scott reached up to rub a hand over his face. "I didn't expect… all of this."

"You know I don't do anything halfway, right?" Tony said. "Especially when I screwed up so badly already."

Scott frowned Tony's way. "You sure you're alright, Stark?"

"Yep. Fine." Tony nodded to himself, though it was clear he very much was not alright.

"Wasn't anyone's fault but Graydon Creed," Scott said, surprising himself with his concern - but then, he knew that look intimately.

"Still," Tony said with a shrug. "Alright. I'm going to suit up. Head out. I told Magneto that the two quinjets are for you and your group. I'll grab Cap and get out of your hair, just … let us know when it's time … you know. We want to help see them off and pay our respects."

"It will probably be a combined service. Too many… it would be too much to do all one right after another."

"No kidding," Tony breathed out. "You've got my number, so …"

"Yeah." Scott got to his feet and looked around. "Thanks again. I know our teams don't… mesh. So I wouldn't have blamed you-"

"Yeah, that's not gonna work anymore. _I _blame me," Tony said. "Just let us know when you need help. No questions asked but when and where."

"Honestly, I don't know that the team will… well, there aren't enough of us…"

"It's not just about the teams," Tony said. "But if you want to keep working for good and don't want to carry all the liability, you can join us."

"It's not about liability," Scott said. "I just don't know if we can ask anyone to keep… to come back after this."

"There's no time limit on this, Scott. Take your time, take care of your family and friends. We'll be here when you're ready either way."

Scott nodded gently before he put a hand on Tony's shoulder. "I'll call you when it's all set up. Thanks."

"Anytime," Tony replied, and when he stepped back from Scott, he made his way over to where he'd stashed the armor and quickly suited up. "Wanda seems to think I've got a death wish," he said with a little smirk.

"Knowing How Magneto feels about the Avengers? Wearing that suit? You might."

"Haven't got anything else and the rock tee and sneakers seemed like I was under dressed," Tony deadpanned.

"True enough. But you didn't murder me so he might let you come back."

"One way to find out," Tony said before he waited for his official escort to take him away from the lab. While he waited, he hedged on telling Scott the _other _bit that he'd found out from his drones, but … seeing as Scott was taking charge of the funeral arrangements, it really was something he had to do. "Oh, Scott. I know there's no good time to tell you this kind of thing, but … I had sent out a small army of drones to search that site - where you were being held. I was looking for … well I was looking for answers, if I'm being honest."

"And?" Scott said, half holding his breath on what it was that Tony might be hanging on to.

"I've recovered the Professor's body along with the body of a young man that DNA matched up with Logan. He _did _lose a son, it just … wasn't the one he _thought _he'd lost."

Scott nodded slowly. "Akihiro," he said, though he barely breathed it out. "I didn't know him well, but Logan told K about him when they were married…" He shook his head and then swore under his breath. "The bastard wasn't lying."

"Probably ought to elaborate on that," Tony said.

"Sabretooth told Logan just before he killed K that his son had been asking for him when he died," Scott but out through his teeth, his hands in fists at his sides. "When K died, Logan thought he had lost _everyone _in his family."

Tony stared at Scott for a long moment. "And because of this guy … he wasn't lying."

"Logan would have known if he was," Scott said, still visibly angry. "_Dammit_, this shouldn't have happened."

"He played him," Tony said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"He'd never been able to before. Not that I ever saw," Scott said. "If it wasn't so damn _believable _it would never have worked."

"But he wasn't technically lying. Logan just … didn't think about the other … this Akihiro?"

"They weren't close," Scott said. "At all. The fact that he was asking for Logan… he had to have been well past the breaking point. Logan wouldn't have believed it."

Tony nodded at that. "We found Creed's body too. Both of them."

"Stark, I don't give a damn about them. Leave them to _rot_. I don't care."

"No, I just … I know how much of a pain Sabretooth was, and you should know he's not coming back. He was pretty well torched."

"Good." Scott made a visible effort to calm back down before he turned toward Tony. "And… the professor…?"

"He's waiting for you in New York ... " Tony let out a breath. "I'm sure he'd have wanted to be 'home'."

"yeah." Scott was almost holding his breath before he sat down again. "Yeah. He… yeah."

"Anything you need," Tony said as his escort arrived. "Just say the word."

"Thanks," Scott said in a breath. "Really."


	7. Stage Four Grief: Depression

**Chapter 7 - Stage Four Grief: Depression**

* * *

Scott took his time leaving the lab, honestly torn on how to process everything while he was taking in the fact that everything on Genosha was so … vividly bright. But the joy and wonder at regaining his sight was still bitterly tinged with the heavy losses they'd sustained. And those losses were touching every single facet of their lives. For instance, Scott nearly lost his breath when, on seeing the beautiful flowers that lined the sidewalk, his first reaction was to automatically reach out to project to Jean what he was seeing, only to very suddenly need to find a bench to rebalance himself for a good, long while.

It was emotional whiplash of the worst kind, and Scott was already hurting before that had started up. The confusion and joy of finally being able to see in living color instead of shades of red since he was a _kid _was almost enough to make him momentarily forget that he'd lost the girl who held his heart. But that only lasted long enough for him to instinctively reach for her. Because she'd been there, in his head since …. Well, since the first time the Phoenix had nearly destroyed their world. Since the flaming firebird had chosen his first love to be its host. And even the memory of how that telepathic link had been forged was now tainted since even that had been partially in thanks to the bloodthirsty _lying _cosmic parasite that had _stolen her_.

If he wasn't so damned depressed over all of it, Scott would have been furious. But he didn't have the energy to be that angry. Not when he knew it wouldn't bring Jean back. Not when he knew what little energy he had left was best spent taking care of their kids … and Logan's orphaned son.

Scott turned and found a clock that read out the time clearly - something that he might not have been able to read properly considering that the numbers were red - and he forced himself to his feet. He'd been gone for far too long. Especially when it was obvious that James got nervous when left with Bobby and Kitty for too long - as if he was just waiting for someone else to step in and take him to live with someone _new_.

He was almost back to the house where the team was holed up for the moment when he heard his name and turned to see Erik making his way over. It was a little different seeing the Magneto regalia in living color, though he tried not to look too surprised all the same at the garish combination - even if the red and purple were distressed and battle-worn.

"Hello, Erik," Scott said softly as Erik touched down lightly. Scott didn't know it, but Erik had rarely been walking the past week or so since the X-Men had been rescued from the brink of their own executions. He'd simply been too furious.

"How are you feeling, Scott?" Erik asked gently, though it was clear he was studying him as they walked.

"Still getting used to it," Scott admitted. There was no point in lying about it. "It's a shock going from the visor to bandages to living color."

"Stark pulled through then," Erik said, sounding almost surprised.

"He did," Scott said. "Even better vision than I had as a kid." He was sure Erik's men would tell him about the upgrades, but old habits had Scott holding back the rest of it.

"I'll be honest," Erik told him. "I had my doubts about letting him remain here, even for this."

"I spoke with Storm. If anything had gone wrong, if there were implants or worse, she'd have taken the kids and gotten lost on the wind." Scott tipped his chin up. "I'm not risking them. Ever."

"You know you're welcome to stay here, where it's _safer_, Scott." Erik was watching him carefully. "Even if I know you were only planning to be here until you could get your feet under you."

"If it was just my kids, I'd consider it," Scott said. "But I think James needs to be able to get out in the woods. When he comes into his mutation, he'll need the quiet, not an island full of people."

"You don't know for sure that he'll be anything like his parents," Erik said.

"I know it's the most likely outcome. And I know from dealing with them _both_ that crowds overwhelm their senses." Scott crossed his arms. "It's not something James will be able to control. Not like what our powers were."

"You still have several _years _before that would be a concern, my boy."

"I know." Scott let out a long breath. "And you have a point about safety in numbers. Just … let me think about it."

The two of them walked together in relative silence, but in trying to avoid looking at Magneto, Scott saw all of the mutants who obviously knew who he was - and what had happened to his team if the sympathetic looks were anything to go by. It only made the quiet walk to the house that much more uncomfortable, but Scott had to find a better subject to discuss or he was going to lose his fine grasp on his emotions.

"You should be at the memorial." Scott swallowed hard, a muscle working in his jaw as he dug for the words while Erik was still quietly in shock at their current strange cease-fire. "I'm sorry. About the professor. I know he thought a lot of you and the respect he had ...I know you meant a lot to each other."

"You've lost so much in such a short span of time," Erik said quietly, clearly touched by what Scott had said.

"I couldn't save him," Scott said, looking past Erik with his hands still in fists.

"We couldn't save any of them once those wheels set into motion," Erik said in a sad, metered tone.

Scott was quiet for a long time before he finally met Erik's gaze. "You were right," he said thickly, his voice catching in his throat.

"And I've never wanted to have been wrong so badly in my life," Erik replied with a tight smile.

"I'm sorry about Pietro," Scott said, his hand on the doorknob. "Kurt told me what happened. If it's any consolation, K was operating under threat of my daughter's death - and she knew that Creed had plans to use him. I wouldn't be surprised if that was going to be Creed's path _here_. Pietro would be killed or worse along with the rest of us."

Erik's gaze hardened a bit at that. "There's no way to know that for certain, is there?"

"I know it's hollow." Scott looked down. "Not one of my people had a choice in it. She was desperate, and I think … I think she fully expected to die. Just not … how she did. I can't make it any better or apologize enough."

"Let's not talk about the what ifs or could have beens," Erik said. "We both still have our losses to deal with irregardless."

"Then I can only say I'm sorry," Scott said.

"And I the same," Erik replied as Scott finally opened the door and the two of them stepped inside. The two Summers children rushed over, clearly excited to see their father, but James stayed back - warily watching the two men.

Nate immediately started to explore Scott's face with his hands, his eyes wide and his expression one of awe. "Daddy!" Nate declared happily. "Blue! Blue blue blue blue blue!"

It was the first time Scott cracked a smile. "What do you think, Rachel?"

"I dunno," she said, scrunching her nose up. "Where did your glasses go?"

"I don't need them," Scott explained. "When my eyes got hurt, it hurt my powers." He crouched to pick her up too. "Is that okay? No more optic blasts?"

Rachel looked shocked and then looked closer until she was nose to nose with Scott. "No more glasses?"

"No more glasses."

"O...Kay." She narrowed her eyes and then nodded once. "Okay. No glasses. You can just play with me an' Nate an' James cuz we don't have optical blasts either."

"What about Mia?" Scott asked, failing at hiding his amusement at Rachel's assessment.

"She's with her mom," Rachel said. "Her mom is real sad." She glanced over her shoulder to James. "James too. Cuz of everyone dying."

Scott nodded at that. "What about you, sweetheart?"

"I'm kinda sad too," Rachel said. "But I'm tryna not be. Because everyone needs hugs and I'm _really _busy makin' sure they get hugs."

Scott kissed the side of her head. "It's alright to be sad, Rach."

"Okay," she said, melting into a hug as Scott carried her and Nate to sit down with them both - and made sure to beckon James over too if he wanted it so he didn't feel left out.

James was slow about making his way over from where he'd been sitting in the window watching everyone as they walked by the house. Half of his attention was on Erik as he haltingly hedged closer to the Summers family. He was wary of all the new people coming in and out even though he was watching every one of them, and it was obvious that James was adrift. Scott knew it better than anyone else there, too. He scooped James up and then bent close to his ear. "We're not staying here forever, I promise," he whispered. "We're going to the woods soon. And we're going fishing. Okay?"

James still was watching Erik, even as Scott spoke with him, but finally, he very quietly nodded his head, though with all of the new changes - and Scott's new eyes, James was standoffish about _everything_, even being close to Scott … unless Scott was walking out of the door, that is.

Scott let out a breath and tapped James on the shoulder. "Hey, buddy, I know it's a lot. Do you want 'em brown instead?" He tipped his head to catch James' gaze. "I don't care."

James stayed silent and shook his head lightly.

"Well, that's probably good anyhow- I think Nate is attached." Scott said, trying to get a smile out of the boys. "You can pick my shades, though. I still need sunglasses, and I'd like a break from red."

James shook his head again and tried to take a step back. "Rachel can pick."

Scott let out a breath. "Alright, James," he said gently. "I'm just - just trying to be a good godfather, alright? I don't want you to be left out."

At that, James turned away from Erik entirely and looked up at Scott for a moment before he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Scott's neck to snuggle in without another word.

Scott let his shoulders relax with the hug, even as the two Summers kids joined in. "Yeah. Love you too."

Erik had just opened his mouth to ask a question when there was a light knock on the door that broke up the little snuggle fest. James let go of Scott quickly and zipped off to a more hidden spot- though Scott realized he needed to learn the layout of the house before he could do much else. He wondered for an instant how many hiding spots James had found for himself for when he was overwhelmed. But he didn't have time to think about it much when Wanda opened the door and let herself in.

"I hope it's a good time," she said just before a pair of three year olds darted around her legs and Vision stepped up to stand behind her. "I held the boys back as long as I could, but they really want to spend some time with kids their own age." Billy made a loop back to his parents, and Wanda rested her hand on the top of his head as he hugged her legs, smiling up at her. "Say hello to Scott, boys."

"HI!" Billy and Tommy sang out - from opposite sides of the room as Tommy raced around.

Billy let go of his mother before she could stop him and he bounced over to the living room, barely pausing to wave at his grandfather with a grin before he climbed up on the opposite end of the couch that Scott and his kids were on. He smiled at the Summers kids for a moment, and though Rachel smiled back a little, Nate didn't hesitate to climb down from his father and head over to play with Tommy - and the cars he'd brought along.

Wanda gave her father a look, though the others seemed to miss it, and a moment later, she took the seat next to Scott when Billy followed Rachel over to where she'd been working on a puzzle. "Sorry for swinging by without the warning," she said. "The boys were pushing to meet everyone. They heard all about your little ones from Alex and Lorna, so of course, they wanted to see if they were as fun as he'd said they were.

Scott nodded, honestly glad to see Rachel and Nate _trying _at least. But he couldn't help but turn his head and look for James. "They can use the boost, honestly," Scott said, and a moment later, he'd tried out the scanner to see _where _James had tucked himself away without alarming him.

When he found James hiding under a corner table that had a cloth that covered it to the floor, Scott made his way over to him and simply stood there while he chatted with Wanda. When she frowned at his odd placement in the room, he pointed to the table to tip her off but not entirely bust James out as to where he was hidden.

Wanda made a face that showed exactly how much she wanted to pull James out and _snuggle _him, but instead, nodded and stayed close by while Scott told her how he was adjusting to the _colors._

Which drew Tommy and Billy closer. "My favorite color is _red_," Billy said, smiling up at both of them, but staying just out of Wanda's reach.

"My fav'rit's _green_," Tommy announced, just as Nate threw his arms up and shouted out 'bluuueee!'

"What about you, Rachel? What's your favorite color?" Wanda asked, keeping half an eye out for James and hoping the kids would draw him out.

"I like a lot of them," Rachel said. "I like green because my eyes are green, but I like pink, too. And light purple cause lotsa flowers are purple that smell pretty." She looked around them for a moment as the twins bounced in place, only to gasp and look up at Scott. "Daddy! Where's James?"

"I think he's hiding," Scott said. "He'll come out when he's ready."

"Ooooooh! Hide an' seek!" Tommy laughed, clapping his hands as he bounced in place _almost _enough to fall over.

"No.." Scott tried to tell him, in a vain attempt to slow him down - but it was too late and the three boys rushed off to find hiding spots.

Twice Tommy returned just to circle the adults before darting off another direction - and once more to inform Rachel that she was 'it' since she hadn't gone to hide. So Scott almost missed it when Billy came from the other direction and apparently decided that the little table that James was tucked into was the _perfect _hiding spot.

Scott was _close _to smiling, but when he saw Billy slipping under the table cloth, he turned to try and stop him - but it was a little too late by the surprised sounding 'oh!' that Billy almost squeaked out when he saw the spot was taken. "Do you wanna share spots?" Billy whispered loud enough for Wanda and Scott to hear - and his tone shifted to one of deep concern when James' only answer was to curl in tighter around himself, his arms around his knees and his face half hidden as he folded himself over.

Billy lost much of his smile as he watched James react and instead of pushing or trying to talk, Billy echoed James' posture as he scooted in to sit next to him, though he wasn't quite ready to sit entirely still like James was doing. He wiggled and tried to be still, and when James didn't answer any of his _very _soft questions, Billy unfolded himself and stuck his head out from under the table cloth to look up at his mother. "Mom," he said quietly - and very serious. "Help! He _sad_."

Wanda glanced at Scott and crouched down. "Who's sad?"

Billy looked very serious as he picked up the table cloth a little as if Wanda could climb in and fit with them. "He is. But I don't know his name 'cause he doesn't _talk_."

She peeked under to see James looking up at her - still folded up, still hiding as best as he could - and then she gently pulled Billy out and ran her hand over his hair and held him almost in a hug with her other arm. "That's because he lost his mom and dad," Wanda whispered in Billy's ear. "He feels very sad about them."

Billy was wide eyed as he stared back at her. "Do we have'ta find 'em?"

"No, sweetheart," Wanda said as Billy went still to listen closer. "James is going to stay with Scott and Nate and Rachel from now on."

Billy nodded at that. "I think he _really _needs a hug."

"I think so too," Wanda said, then quietly picked up the edge of the table cloth and offered James her hand. "Hello, I'm sorry we interrupted your hiding spot."

James's shoulders went up to his ears, but he didn't run the other way.

"This is Billy, and I'm Wanda," she said as she sat cross-legged on the floor. "Would it be okay if we gave you a little hug? We hugged all the other kids here and I'd hate to miss any of you."

James thought about it for a long moment before he very carefully unfolded himself and slipped toward them, only to pause and look up at Scott, who nodded once before James stood up, still half curled into himself as he tried to look smaller. Wanda reached out and gently pulled him in the rest of the way, letting him go at his pace, but also making it clear that she wanted to follow through on the hug … and surprising Scott, once Wanda had her arm around him, James melted into her shoulder.

Wanda let out a little sigh and held the little guy there, though it wasn't long before first Billy - and then Tommy _and _Nate came in to join in. Of course, that only seemed to last for exactly as long as it took James to realize how _many _people were around him … and then immediately start to squirm his way out of it. Which was easier said than done when a couple of snuggly very small kids were involved.

Scott picked him out of the dogpile, and James leaned toward him as the other kids seemed to just run with a little snuggle pile without him. "You alright, bud?" Scott asked quietly, and for an instant, James looked toward the window before he shook his head 'no'. "I know. It's hard with all the people you don't know, but they just want to help." James didn't really nod as he hid his face in Scott's shoulder. "What can I do to help?"

"I wanna go home," James said, whisper quiet - but it was the most he'd said since they got to Genosha.

Scott doubled down on holding him a little tighter. "I know, and we won't stay much longer, alright?"

The kids played for a while longer, until the twins started showing signs of being worn and tired, then Wanda and Vision scooped them up and took them out with a promise to see them again soon. Erik had stayed behind, watching Scott and the others as they interacted with the kids.

In particular, he couldn't help but focus on how Scott was with James, quietly watching the whole thing with a strange sort of frown. For one thing, it was no secret that Scott and Logan weren't terribly close, so the godfather title had been a surprise. But watching Scott with the littlest members of the group outside of Storm's blue-furred little girl … it was clear even before Scott could think it over properly what his answer was going to be to his invitation to stay on Genosha.

Erik stuck around until Scott got James and Nate to lay down for a nap - and Rachel insisted on tucking them in. Scott closed the door to the kids' room behind himself and came out to meet Erik.

"I can't stay here. I can't stay where people knew her," Scott said, trying to explain his thought process to avoid a fight. He just wanted to leave and stop _thinking about anything but the kids for a while. _Especially with how traumatized they were over the losses they'd sustained.

"The door is always open should you change your mind," Erik said gently.

"Thank you," Scott said. "I'm only speaking for myself. Bobby, Kitty, Ororo, Hank - I don't know what they're thinking."

"As you well know, my offer is good for all of you," Erik replied as gently as he could. "I don't think I _could _turn my back on Charles' old students."

Scott's eyes tightened, and he nodded. It was clear to Erik why Scott wouldn't be staying, and seeing how affected he was by the kids - and how dependent they were already on each other. Scott was positively wrapped around the kids' fingers, and if any _one _of the kids wanted out, he'd bend over backward to make it happen. The time simply wasn't right.

Bobby sat down beside Erik after Scott stepped back to check on the little ones, with a muttered, "Yeah, Logan shocked the heck out of … well, everyone when he told Scott who they wanted for Godparents. K explained it better, though. Figured Scott and Jean would step in if anything happened…." He trailed off. "I mean, he was right. But you know. It sucks."

"I didn't realize …" Erik let the sentence fall.

"Yeah, I think they saw him do that thing?" Bobby tipped his head toward the semi-open bedroom door. "With Rachel? And it's only was getting worse every time someone had a kid, so… clearly, it's a thing."

"I see."

"Yeah." Bobby let out a breath and turned to face Erik. "I know right now everyone's focused on the cleanup. And the funerals. And everything. But I gotta ask - did they get 'em all? I mean, not to downplay the Phoenix or anything but there's the FoH and the MRD and Department H and it's not like there's a shortage?"

"It's been … very quiet," Erik said.

"Darn." Bobby glanced up quickly. "I mean - good. That's good. I just…" He let out a frustrated sound. "I didn't get to really _do _\- after they knocked me out at the institute, I haven't gotten to do anything to hit back."

Erik looked surprised at that and turned toward Bobby. "I'm sure you'll find that even when one of those places is eradicated, more will show their ugly faces in short time."

"Yeah, it's just…" Bobby shook his head. "I got played. And I can't make it up to a dead guy. And it sucks."

"I don't know what you'd need to make up," Erik said. "But if you want to fight, you know I won't turn you away."

"Yeah, well, maybe I will," Bobby said, glancing toward Scott and Ororo, who were both clearly just hanging onto their respective kids to stay upright. "Not like the team's getting back together after this."

Erik frowned as he followed Bobby's gaze - and almost missed it when Kitty phased through the couch and made a space for herself to sit too. "You're not going anywhere without me," she informed Bobby, one finger pointed at his nose. "I didn't even get to _see _Logan before he died. I'm getting my katana and fixing a few problems I _know _the Phoenix didn't get to."

"You mean like Lady Deathstrike?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, and some of those other idiots in Japan…" Kitty tipped her chin up. "I might not be able to bait out ninjas as easy without him, but I still know how to fight them."

"Once our official stuff is taken care of," Bobby said, nodding. "I'll go with you."

Kitty smiled grimly at that and then squeezed his arm. "I guess I can use a sidekick."

"If you want a sidekick, we can probably get Spidey to go with, too," Bobby pointed out.

Kitty smirked at that. "He would."

"Do you still have his number?" Bobby asked in the most low-key teasing Kitty had ever heard.

Kitty blinked at him and then shoved him in the shoulder. "I mean, yes, but - shut up!"

"Would you feel better if I passed him a note for you?" Bobby said with the start of a smile. "'Do you want to go on a world tour of butt kicking - check yes or no'."

"Are you asking for me or you, because you're _way _too happy about this," Kitty shot back.

"You were cute with your flirting," Bobby said. "I can see it."

"He… shut up, Bobby."

"I feel like I should try to stand in and be intimidating for you," Bobby said. "Set the ground rules …"

"Bobby, first of all, I'm _way _more intimidating than you are…"

"This is about _intent_," Bobby defended. "And I can be intimidating!"

Kitty smirked and then reached over to pat Bobby's head. "Sure you can."

"Just wait, Pryde. Just you wait," Bobby said.

Kitty smirked at Bobby and then stuck her tongue out before she phased back into the other room, leaving Bobby shaking his head at her - though in a considerably better mood.

* * *

For most of the people that attended the funeral, the whole thing went more or less in a blur. It was just… a lot. And nobody who came was remotely at a point where they had truly processed their losses.

So Tony was surprised when Scott was the one to find him, since he was sure the guy still had to be a mess of emotions from… all of it. But he had Nate asleep on his shoulder, while Rachel kept close to James who was quietly listening to some Asgardian story that Thor was telling them. It was plain to see that Thor was completely entranced with Rachel's spunk and James' tenacity, even if he was still being unnaturally quiet for a three year old.

"Whenever you're ready," Scott said in an undertone, "the kids' belongings have already been unloaded. We just need to finish the security checks."

"I'll get Natasha," Tony said. "I've got some portable stuff you might appreciate."

"Well, so far, you haven't let me down…"

"How are the second gen eyes working out?"

"Focus is better," Scott said. "Rachel gets a kick out of the long-range scanners. So thanks for making me a video game."

"Welcome to my world, my friend," Tony said under his breath before he headed off to grab Natasha. The two of them had a quiet word that Scott watched go down. It took Natasha no time at all to compose herself, though one glance at James had her nodding quickly and strutting back toward Scott with her most professional expression in place.

"You're sure you want to use one of the old cabins?" Natasha asked. "I could find somewhere more hidden if you'd like. I never did find all of _hers_, but …."

"I need something familiar," Scott said. "Not for me, for James. Something that was his dad's." He met her gaze steadily. "It's not just about the security, though being that remote is part of it."

Natasha did a less than stellar job of keeping her game face on as she nodded along. "Then lets get it secured for you."

Scott nodded at that. "You understand I'm not letting anyone but you or Stark near this."

"He has access to the tech, and I spent part of my childhood with Logan," Natasha said. "I know what his idea of security was and it was generally lacking."

"That's the only reason I'm letting anyone see the place. At all." Scott raised both eyebrows and gave her a pointed look. "Jean wiped Department H off the map, but I've always said you can't kill an idea. If someone finds out about James, they _will _come for him."

"I'll keep my ear to the ground," Natasha promised.

"And so will I," Scott said. "Believe it or not, I've got Magneto on my side on this one. So we're all in agreement."

Natasha nodded her head and turned in time to catch James and Rachel headed their way. Rachel was cheerful but cautious, and little James was apprehensive and openly watching her.

"You have red hair like me," Rachel informed Natasha as she came to stand by her dad, automatically holding onto his pants leg as she'd been doing since she really understood that her mom wasn't coming back.

"Yes," Natasha said with a little smile. "I think it's the best color, don't you?"

Rachel nodded. "It's like my mom," she said softly, twirling her hair around her finger.

"And you'll be just as beautiful, I'm sure," Natasha told her before she turned to wait for them to head to the quinjet. "Are you ready for a little break from everyone?"

Rachel glanced up at Scott, who had a hand on her back automatically as soon as she was close enough, before she looked back to Natasha. "My daddy needs to be sad by himself, so we're going to go fishing."

"I happen to think that's a very smart thing to do," Natasha said, sparing Scott a little smile.

"Miss Storm says it's okay to be sad, so I think I will be too," Rachel said, hugging Scott a little tighter. "But right now, I'm doing hugs." She paused. "Do you need hugs?"

"I do," Natasha said. "But I won't ask for one unless your Dad says it's alright."

Rachel glanced up at Scott, who nodded minutely, and then she rushed over to give Natasha a hug - with James watching the whole interaction carefully from the other side of Scott.

"My mommy and daddy were superheroes, so I'm tryna help like them," Rachel whispered to Natasha as she hugged her. "'Specially 'cause Daddy don't got his optical laser face no more."

Natasha melted into the hug, pouring it right back to Rachel as she gave her the best snuggle she knew how. "Then it's a good thing he never needed that to keep you safe."

Rachel smiled up at Natasha. "He looks silly now 'cause he's got _blue _eyes instead of red!" she giggled quietly.

Natasha smirked crookedly. "I think they suit him."

"They're like my Nate's!" Rachel said with a grin. "But mine are green like Mommy, see?" She got nose to nose with Natasha and opened her eyes widel. "See?"

"Stunning," Natasha replied, smiling a tiny bit more crookedly at the little girl's enthusiasm. "And that means all three of you have different eyes, don't you?" She peeked over to James, but he didn't step forward like she'd hoped he would.

Rachel let out a sigh. "James is shy," she said.

"He wasn't shy before," Natasha said.

"Uh huh. And now he's sad 'cause of he lost _his _mom _and_ also his dad."

"I'm sad he lost them, too."

Rachel nodded. "He's gonna be my brother now, just like Nate," she explained. "So I'll take really good care of him, okay? I'm really good at helpnin' with Nate, and James is a little older so maybe he can help too once he's not so sad an' scared."

"If you ever need help, you'll let me know, won't you?"

"Uh-huh 'cause we need to help our friends," Rachel said. "That's what Mommy says. She says you gotta help everyone and be nice and stuff."

Natasha gave her a warm smile and started toward the quinjet. "Has your Daddy shown you how to fly this yet?"

Rachel giggled. "No, silly! I'm not big enough!"

"Getting close, though," Scott said with a soft, fond smile her way.

"Tony will fly with us - just to keep from drawing attention," Natasha said to Scott. "You can stay with the kids if you'd like. Or you can fly."

"I'll stay with them," Scott said, pointedly looking down at James before he picked him up with his free hand. "Pretty sure James isn't going to come unstuck until we're more solid."

"How's he been sleeping?" Natasha asked quietly.

"Not any better than I am," Scott said.

"That bad, huh?" Natasha said. "Has to be tough for such a little guy."

"His mom always put him to sleep," Scott said. "When his parents were out on a mission, he slept over with us and Jean was the one who always did it." He smiled tightly. "I'm not a good replacement for any of them."

"That … I'm sorry to hear it," she said, frowning a little deeper. She started for the cockpit, paused, then went to the back of the plane to come back with a few little blankets. "Just for the trip."

"Thanks," Scott said, already unfolding the blanket to tuck around the still sleeping Nate.

The quinjet went in fast, low, and totally undetected right to the coordinates Scott had given them, though when they landed, Both Tony and Natasha were sure to suit up and head out before Scott could even begin to rouse the kids, though as he'd said to Natasha - James hadn't fallen asleep on the flight. Even if he looked exhausted.

The two of them started out doing a general sweep of the area and a much more thorough sweep of the cabin itself, though Natasha was having trouble getting through the little cabin without some tears.

"Remember? It's okay to be sad," Rachel said quietly, catching Natasha off her guard when she grabbed Natasha's hand.

She blinked back what she could and gave Rachel a tight kind of smile as she crouched down. "Logan was very special to me," she told her quietly before she rested her hand on Rachel's hair.

"I loved Logan and K lots," Rachel said, staring up at Natasha intently.

"Then you know how special it is to be in this place that he loved so much," Natasha said before she took a few steps back and quickly composed herself to get back to work - setting up all sorts of miniscule equipment.

Eventually, all three of the adults were convinced they were set up, and Rachel made sure to hug Natasha. Nate even hugged her too - having just woken up and deciding that whoever his sister was hugging, he needed to hug.

James finally made his way over to Natasha, while Tony was telling Scott about the panic buttons in addition to all the other measures and for a moment he stared up at Natasha. When she crouched down, he came close enough to give her a little kiss on the cheek - like he would do _before _all this mess came down on them.

Natasha positively melted, and she snatched James up into a tight hug and pressed a kiss to the side of his head. "_Ya tebya lyublyu_."

"_Proshchay,_" James replied quietly.

Natasha let out an involuntary noise. "I will see you soon. Whenever you need me. I promise."

* * *

When Natasha and Tony got back to the Avengers Tower, it was clear both of them were still reeling. There was no good way to leave behind a broken family, but they both knew the best thing for them was to let them find a new normal together.

They hardly spoke a word to each other before they split. Tony headed for his lab, and Natasha headed toward the residential halls, though not to her own room.

When she walked in, Clint was working on his bowtie with one hand as he pulled some leftovers out of the mini fridge. He smiled up at her when he saw her come in and then tipped his head to tell her to come in. "Figured you'd want to be alone, but if you want company, I can order out. Really only enough for one…"

Natasha shook her head as she closed the door behind her. "I don't want to be alone."

"Not complaining," he promised. "Really. This whole thing was rough. Even those of us that weren't that close… it's rough."

Natasha nodded before she kicked off from the door and crossed over to him in a few steps to snag him by the half-tied bowtie and pull him into a long kiss that didn't end until they were tangled up in each other.

Clint grinned. "Well, that's one way to cheer up."

"Shut up, Barton," she said, pulling him into another long kiss.

…..

From Russian:

_Ya tebya lyublyu - _I love you.

_Proshchay _\- goodbye (as opposed to _do svidaniya_ which is 'until next time')


	8. Investing In The Future

**Chapter 8 - Investing In The Future**

* * *

When Clint woke up the next morning, Natasha was already awake, though she hadn't moved from where she was, either. He was always slower to wake up anyway, though usually, she just went on with her day.

He figured she was still reeling from the funeral, so he turned to face her and kissed her shoulder. "Ain't a shrink, but I approve of this mourning mechanism."

"Shut up," she said, shaking her head at him.

"Already did that," Clint pointed out, smirking harder.

"Good." She turned to face him properly. "Then you won't be opposed to doing this until we get a little one."

Clint froze. "I… what?"

"If you mind terribly, we _can _do things in order. I can have the paperwork drawn up-"

"Nat." He blinked a few more times, though he kept smiling wider the longer he watched her. "I mean, sure."

"Unless you think I need to find someone else entirely."

"Um, no?" Clint stared at her, one eye closed in a wince. "But, c'mon, Nat. You want a family, you should, I mean, I'd want to be more than just DNA?"

"That's what I was hoping for," Natasha replied. "You didn't seem overly sure about yourself though, so I thought I'd give you an out."

"You…. sprung it on me," Clint said, shaking his head with that same disbelieving smile as before.

"I thought you liked surprises," she said with one eyebrow arched up slightly - teasing him.

Clint shook his head and let out a laugh. "I do. I just - are you sure this isn't just because of Logan? I know you weren't okay, and I don't want you to wake up in a year regretting it…"

"All teasing aside, I know exactly what I'm doing, Clint." She shrugged lightly. "Besides, it was James that got me thinking. Not Logan."

"Yeah?" Clint pulled her over to tuck into a snuggle and kissed the side of her head. "Hate to break it to you, Nat, but we'd probably have a blonde or a redhead."

"That's not what I was talking about and you _know it._"

"Just had to make sure you knew what you'd be getting," Clint teased. "Might be a little blonde girl and then we'd just have to try again for a little boy just for you."

"I didn't say we had to have a boy."

"Mmm, that's what I heard," Clint said, grinning at her. "No take-backs. We'll have five girls and the fifth will have a twin brother."

Natasha tipped her head to the side and narrowed her eyes for a moment. "No … there are no twins in my family. That won't work."

"Triplets, then," Clint said without missing a beat.

"If it's triplets, you can carry them."

"There's my Tasha," Clint said with a laugh. He pulled her into a longer kiss this time. "I'm on board, Nat. For all of it. You know I can't say no to you."

"You thought about it," Natasha accused.

"Um, vaguely?" Clint shook his head. "When I was thirteen and it was the princess and we were gonna have a dozen circus brats?" He shrugged. "Then I grew up and figured no one in this biz would _settle _for me, so hey, I'm lucky you kiss me. Let alone _this_."

"I'm not settling, Clint, you need to get that straight right now. Settling would be talking to Bucky out of the blue about this."

"So you _did _have a backup plan."

"That would have been like … plan 'D'."

"Steve beat him out. He'll never live it down," Clint teased.

"By a mile," she said, keeping her serious expression but smirking to herself all the same.

"Who was Plan C? Please tell me it wasn't Stark, because I just - I can't."

"Oh, _no_, of course not," she said, shaking her head. "There's a very sad little X-Man …"

Clint let out a disbelieving sound. "Cyclops? Seriously?"

"He's got three sweet little kids clinging to him - one of which belonged to my Logan," Natasha defended. "And his daughter has red hair and green eyes and calls him out _all _the time."

"Ready-made family for you, huh?" Clint shook his head. "He's Plan A, isn't he?"

"No, if he was plan A, I would have stayed."

"Well, small miracles," Clint said and then kissed her again. "Let's work on those kids, huh? We'll get to the paperwork after coffee."

"I can backdate it if we're busy," she said with a smirk.

"That's my Nat."

* * *

The echoes of the jet leaving hadn't even settled before Kitty and Bobby made good on their plans to head out to Japan looking for trouble - and a means to finish Logan's business there, which left Storm to decide which path she wanted to take. Though Erik's offer to stay in Genosha was a generous one, Ororo simply couldn't turn her back on Charles' dream. Not when she'd put so much of her life into it, living and breathing it as much as Scott had since joining the team.

But … the team was defunct. They'd lost so many important members, and Scott … seeing what had happened to Scott was too cruel for Ororo to forgive, and too horrible to ignore, so when the time finally came to make a decision, it should have shocked no one when she and Mia packed up and went to New York with Hank to the Avengers.

She couldn't sit on the sidelines - not for long, anyhow - and she knew out of all of her options that the Avengers were more than likely the safest option for her little girl who had already lost too much so early in her life.

At first, the Avengers were sure to give her whatever space she needed, though it seemed like every time she crossed paths with Hank, the sweet fuzzy blue doctor would drop everything to give her one of his warmest and most heartfelt hugs.

Which … was more or less exactly what Mia needed. It wasn't the _same _as snuggling up with her papa, but … Hank was certainly fuzzy and warm and more than happy to entertain her.

It wasn't an instant fix, of course. There were still times that Mia was fussy and angry and nothing could calm her down except her papa - until she was too worn out and fell asleep anyway. But watching Mia with Hank, it was at least a little easier to hope that the youngest of the surviving X-Men would be able to move on to a healthy, happy life.

What's more, little Mia had the entire roster of Avengers practically wrapped around her little blue fingers once she and Storm moved in. While the team had been giving Storm room to mourn on her own terms, Mia was still too little to want to be alone. Sure, she was upset and unhappy without her father, but she _needed _the contact of other people to play with instead of space.

Which was entertaining to Ororo in itself, because the Avengers had never had such a little one around before - since Wanda had gone to Genosha before having her twins. And they all had different ways of adjusting.

Thor was the easiest. He would just scoop Mia up and play with her to her heart's content. Whatever she babbled to him, he'd run with it, and it took no time before Mia figured out that she could rope him into all kinds of trouble.

Steve, on the other hand, seemed completely unsure of what to do with a little one underfoot - until he started simply picking her up when she would come close and just doing everything one-handed while she talked to him.

Tony wasn't as noticeable - but Ororo saw how quickly the Tower was baby-proofed and how many new toys would magically appear in the playroom he'd designed for her.

Natasha was interesting as well. She liked to be around Mia and would go out of her way to sit with the little girl and help her with the little things like opening her packet of snacks or putting on her coat to go outside. She was just quietly _there_.

Jan and Clint, on the other hand, were almost as terrible as Thor. If Mia wasn't having a dance party with Jan, she was with Clint, who would get on all fours or lie on the floor to be at her level and play pretend for hours on end.

So yes, the Avengers Tower had been an excellent choice. For many reasons.

But eventually, it was Natasha who approached Ororo with an offer of a 'soft' mission. "I know you've been through it, and you can of course say no," Natasha said. "It's honestly a favor to Clint - some old mobsters in the neighborhood where he crashed for a while are causing trouble."

"As long as it's actually something simple, I suppose I could stand to get a bit of fresh air," Ororo replied. "The roof is fine, but …"

Natasha nodded. "I always feel better when I've put a few men through walls, but that might just be me," she said with a soft smirk.

"No, no, the ones that ask for it … that does make a girl feel like she can walk more upright."

Natasha smiled and nodded. "Well, these are your regular low-lifes. Running extortions and harassing people. Nothing world-ending, and I can handle them myself if you decide when we get there you're not ready for a fight." She smirked. "I've been instructed to low-ball you."

"If we get there and I don't feel like fighting, then the fight will be over soon enough," Ororo said with a little smirk.

"Then we'll get along just fine," Natasha said, gesturing with one hand to lead the way.

It wasn't a long drive out, really. All they had to do was get to the other side of the city, away from the tower and the well-to-do houses and toward the inner city, where the artwork jumped out from every wall and there was a pickup basketball game not far from where they parked.

"Clint had a place near here when we were working together when we first met," Natasha explained as they walked together. "He keeps it up as an escape. Mostly, I use it to crash between missions if I don't feel like dealing with people."

"Perhaps I should consider a place like that," Ororo said, almost to herself.

"You're welcome to use ours," Natasha said. "Like I said, it only really sees use when I'm doing a job outside of the Avengers. And Clint hasn't used it in ages."

"We'll have to see when we get there," Ororo said, smiling almost wistfully. "Jean and I had a place in the city just the two of us years ago …"

"To get away from the boys. Yes, I know the feeling."

"They can't help themselves," she laughed.

"Oh, I barely tolerate that excuse from _them_," Natasha said. "Make them do better - that's what I say." She was smiling as they rounded the corner - and very nearly ran into a little girl, about three, with wide eyes and mismatched clothes that she'd clearly put on herself. The little one had very nearly barreled into them, and when Ororo reached out to catch her, she yanked her arm back quickly.

"No!" the girl shouted. "No touching!"

"Calm yourself, little one," Ororo said, looking concerned as she tried to catch her gaze. "Who has you so scared?"

"I don't _wike _'em," the little girl insisted. "I don't _wike _this new house!"

"Who?" Ororo asked, finally crouching down to her level.

"Funny men with funny voices and funny clothes," the little girl said. "I don't _wike _'em."

Ororo reached out to rest her hand on the little girl's shoulder just as a small group of ill-dressed men rounded the corner.

"Oh, you find our girl!" one of them said Ororo's way.

Ororo raised one eyebrow as she stood up and pushed the little girl behind her. "Who are you and what do you want?"

The men, all of them in tracksuits, glanced at each other before the guy who spoke up shrugged easily. "We run this block, yes?"

"No," Ororo said. "I don't think so."

"You must be new," the guy said. "This block? Is our block. We protect it, you pay, is all good."

"Natasha," Ororo said, looking for just a moment down to the cowering little girl. "I think I can handle this just fine."

"I won't stand in the way of a goddess," Natasha said, making it a point to give Ororo space to work. "I'll be here."

Ororo turned back toward the men and tipped her chin up. "What do you want with the little girl?"

"She part of the family now," the man in charge explained. "We take her in, yes? After whole project goes up in flames."

"Do you want to go back to them, little one?" Ororo said, smiling sweetly at the little girl.

The little girl shook her head and held onto Ororo's shirt. "Nuh-uh."

"Would you rather go with us?" she asked.

"I guess," the little girl said quietly.

"Then please," Ororo said. "Hold on to Natasha's hand for a moment." As soon as the little one stepped back from her even the tiniest bit, Ororo whirled around to face the still advancing men and took a step forward … before she started to float off the ground - the winds around her lifting her up as her eyes clouded over. "Go back to whatever rock you crawled out from under. I won't ask again."

"Is kidnapping, lady," one of the others broke in. "We get little girl."

"I doubt you're her legal guardian," Ororo said as the clouds started to crackle and grow darker over head. The moment one of them took a step toward them, a loud crack split the air and a bolt of lighting hit just in front of the group of criminals.

To their credit, the guys seemed to realize how outclassed they were and scattered quickly, and Natasha let out a little laugh as she picked up the little girl so she could be at their level. "You were right. It was a fast fight."

"It always is with men like that," Ororo replied as she turned and floated back down to the two of them. "Are you alright, little one?"

The little girl nodded, though she looked nervous as she held onto Natasha. "I don't wanna go to the smelly house," she said.

"You don't have to," Ororo promised. "We have a very nice-smelling place you can go to, if you'd like."

The little girl looked between the two of them. "That's what the funny guys said when they got me from my dance class."

Natasha tipped her head at that. "Your dance class?"

"Uh-huh." The little girl twirled her hair with her finger. "I'm real good. But then the funny guys said my mommy and daddy got burned up!" She let her lower lip quiver. "I don't wanna get burned up!"

"I don't think you need to worry about that anymore, sweet one," Ororo said with a decidedly down tone.

"Okay, but you made lightning," the little girl said. "Poof!"

Ororo nodded and then took a moment to hold her hand out and make a miniature raincloud right at the little girl's eye level - and let it start sprinkling down showers. "That's not all that I can do."

"Oh _wow_," the little girl said, leaning nearly out of Natasha's arms to touch the cloud. "Wow, wow, wow!"

"My name is Ororo," Storm said. "But my favorite people have always called me 'Ro."

"My name's Katie," the little girl said. "I like your name!" She turned to Natasha expectantly, which got a little laugh.

"Natasha," she said.

"I like that too," Katie said.

Natasha smiled and then turned toward Ororo. "Well, I don't know about you, but I did just tell Clint I wanted a family, so if you're not claiming her…"

Ororo smiled lightly at that. "I think that decision should be up to Katie."

"We'll see," Natasha said, though her tone was clearly teasing. "The way Clint is with Mia? I'll still get what I want."

"I won't stand in your way," Ororo said with a little smile.

Natasha smiled a little wider as the two of them headed back to her car - and in short order, Katie had a milkshake and clothes that suited her before they got back to the tower.

"Oh, okay. Um. Hello," Tony said when the two of them walked into the main area with Katie holding each woman's hands and skipping between them. "I thought you were going to deal with those weird Russians…?"

"Yes, we were," Natasha said. "And the weird Russians decided to snatch up a little girl. So, here we are."

"Uh huh," Tony said, before he made his way over and took a moment to frown a little at Katie. "What's your name, princess?"

"I'm Katie!" she sang out happily.

"Katie _what_?" he asked before he offered her his hand. "I'm Tony Stark."

Katie grinned up at him and drew herself up, putting on a prissy sort of attitude. "_Katherine Elizabeth Bishop_," she sang.

"That .. is quite the name for such a little girl," Tony said.

"It's pretty!" Katie insisted.

"It is," Tony agreed, nodding his head. "And I think I know _exactly _who you are. Did you know you were famous?"

"I _am_?" Katie gasped and danced in place. "Like a _superhero_?"

"Not yet, but in this crowd? Give it time," Tony said. "Who's your favorite superhero?"

Katie giggled. "All of 'em!" she declared happily. "But 'specially I like Spidey! He's funny and I saw him after dance once!"

Tony made a face at that and drew himself back up to his full height. "Gonna have to work on that."

"I like 'Ro too," Katie said. "She gots a whole _storm _in her hand! Didja know that?"

"You know that's her hero name, too?" Tony said. "She goes by Storm."

"I like that!" Katie said. "I like Tasha too. She's a dancer like me! She said!"

Tony nodded at that and then picked Katie up so he could walk her around the place. "That's not all she is. You tell her who you are yet, Nat?"

Natasha smirked as she caught up to them. "I _may _have been waiting to tell her I was an Avenger until she could meet Hawkeye too."

Katie gasped delightedly. "Oooh! Yes please!"

"Got news for you kiddo," Tony said. "You're surrounded by Avengers."

Katie giggled delightedly and squirmed to be let down so she could run in a small circle and generally get overly excited about everything - which gave Natasha a chance to pull Tony aside. "You know who she is?" she asked. "I was going to look her up when I had a moment alone…"

"You don't have to," Tony said. "Her dad was a big, dirty publisher. Big money, big trouble, too."

"She said her family burned up," Natasha said. "Considering the Phoenix debacle, I had to wonder…"

"You can look into it. Name's Derek Bishop. Guy was a piece of work and about as dirty as they come."

"I will," Natasha said, then smiled over at Katie. "In the meantime…"

"If you want to keep her safe, I'll get my legal team on it to make sure no one pulls anything shady."

"Please and thank you," Natasha said. "I think I'll have to tease Clint about this one. Dark-haired and sassy…."

Tony nodded at that and didn't make it more than another couple of steps before he'd pulled out his phone to get the ball rolling. "We'll fill in names later," he promised. "I just want to make sure no one can use her for leverage or anything like that."

"Absolutely. And what safer place to be than the tower?" Natasha said. "I have full confidence."

"Try telling that to the first X-Man hiding."

Natasha let out a breath. "That's different, Tony. You know it is."

"I know it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"That family has every reason to be paranoid," Natasha said. She tipped her head toward Katie. "This is just dirty money, not … that."

Tony had the phone to his ear as he followed Natasha's focus. "Don't make me take her for a flight."

"Hey. I've actually put in the paperwork to marry mine and do this properly. You can wait your turn."

"Yeah, not happening," Tony said, ducking out of the way for the hit he knew was coming. "She'll have a little Iron Teddy bear before you can stop me."

"Ah, but _I _can teach her ballet!" Natasha sang out. "You lose, Stark!"

"Armor with a tutu," Tony teased.

"Just accept defeat gracefully!"

"Nope! Never gonna happen!" Tony called out as he headed off to finish his call.


	9. Burdened Goddess

**Chapter 9 - Burdened Goddess**

* * *

Natasha laughed to herself, still entertained with Tony's ongoing antics as she made her way to Ororo - with Katie still running in circles around the other Avengers. When she found Ororo leaning in the window with grey clouds gathering in the skies behind her, Natasha put her hand on Storm's arm. "I wouldn't mind doing more runs with you," she said. "I know how it can be to try to start a new life. You're taking it much better than I did."

"That part is easy," Ororo said. "Helping those that can't defend themselves … it's the rest of it that brings me more trouble, though … Mia keeps me focused."

"She's amazing, and the sweetest, most beautiful little girl," Natasha agreed.

"She's so much like her father," Ororo replied.

"I didn't know him well, except that he had excellent taste in best friends," Natasha said.

Ororo let out a breath of a laugh. "The two of them were something else," she said. "And my closest friends in Westchester. The three of us joined the team together, you know."

"I knew Logan since I was a child," Natasha said. "You aren't alone missing them. I hope you know it."

"Oh, I don't believe that Logan was lacking for friendship anywhere he went," Ororo said with a smirk. "But it is nice to know I'm in good company. He spoke highly of you - when he spoke."

"And when he was with the Avengers, he only had the best to say about the X-Men," Natasha said. "He was so proud when you and Kurt were married, even if he didn't say anything."

"He was," Ororo agreed. "And when Logan _spoke _at our wedding, he had Kurt in tears."

Natasha's smile turned sadder. "I would have liked to hear him do something like that for my wedding. But of course, it took him dying to put me on that path in the first place, so I'm sure he would argue he's already done his part."

"These last few years … he seemed at peace."

"He always wanted a family, Ororo. Everything else was noise."

"Which was why he snapped when he lost them," she said, her whole body showing her sorrow as she wilted.

Natasha pressed her lips together and put her hand on Ororo's shoulder. "And you?" She asked gently. "I have seen Cyclops holding back the worst. You must be just as affected."

"I am trying to keep Mia in mind. I know in my heart that if Logan had known James was alive, he wouldn't have done what he did. He would have been miserable and broken, and he would have mourned K for _years_," Ororo said. "Likely for the rest of his life. But for as _heartbroken _as their little boy is, I'm determined not to leave Mia to the same desperation."

Natasha nodded softly. "I know Logan was her godfather," she said. "So let me make the same promise to you I did to Cyclops: anything I can do to honor his children, I will do it."

"And I appreciate that," Ororo said, covering Natasha's hand with her own.

When there was a soft silence between them, a squeal from Katie, who was with Tony broke that silence, and Natasha shook her head. "I need to spoil a dancer before Tony steals her from me. Mia is with Hank, I'm sure. Thank you for coming with me."

"Good luck," Ororo said as she looked past Natasha to where Tony had clued Katie in on the Iron Man issue. "I think you have an uphill battle on your hands with that one."

"I play to win, my friend. And she hasn't seen my pointe shoes," Natasha said before she slipped off on a mission.

Ororo watched her go with a smile before she started toward where she _knew _Hank would be - reading a story to a very sleepy Mia and making a point not only to use voices and side commentary, but also to bust into his thesaurus and make many of the descriptions far more complicated than the text indicated. She watched them for a long moment before she made her way over and perched on the arm of his chair to look over his shoulder as he continued the story. "Don't let me interrupt."

Hank smiled up at her for a moment before he read through the last few pages, smiling more when he saw Mia lose her battle with sleep on the last page and simply snuggle in, her mouth open just enough to show off the few teeth she had - especially the pointy ones.

"I take it your first venture into the dangers of Avengering went well?" Hank teased.

"I'm afraid I could probably venture into those waters in my sleep and come off no worse for wear," Ororo teased right back.

"Ah, well we should graduate you to more horrendous foes. Perhaps the Serpent Society. Or a common bank robber."

Ororo couldn't help but laugh at that. "It was almost a petty crime," she said. "If it weren't for the little girl that needed to be swept out of danger."

Hank raised an eyebrow at that. "Not so petty then." He readjusted the way he was holding Mia as he said it, so that she was more comfortable.

"Not entirely," Ororo admitted. "Though I was reminded of Logan's insistence that the Avengers were spending much of their time rescuing kittens up trees." She smiled his way. "Her name is Katie."

"Sometimes, we dabble in kittens, yes," Hank said. "Or Katherine's, as the case may be. What brought you to such a little kitty?"

"She ran into us," Ororo replied. "Trying to escape some Russian mobsters."

"What on earth was she doing with them?"

"I believe Tony said it was a big business issue of sorts," Ororo said. "At any rate, he and Natasha are arguing over custody."

"Let me let you in on a secret, my dear," Hank said, smiling and leaning closer. "Always bet on the Black Widow."

"Oh, I don't doubt it," she laughed before she smiled once more then leaned over to kiss his cheek. "You've been wonderful with her."

"She is so easy to love," Hank said, shaking his head. "She has her father's heart and your expressions."

"She's more him than me," Ororo said.

"Perhaps you need to look a little closer," Hank said. "I see a strong-willed goddess in her eyes."

"I think, my dear friend, we only see what it is we're searching for."

"Then I hope you never cease to see our Nightcrawler when you look at her," Hank said gently.

Ororo's smile slipped a bt at that. "Henry, I have a more serious question to ask, if you don't mind …"

Hank sat up straighter to give her his full attention. "Of course. I know it has been said often, but the phrase 'anything you need' is still my creed for my dear friends."

She let out a sigh and rested her hand on his arm. "I don't want to think of all the losses we've had any more than I need to, but Mia is now without both her father and her godfather. I was hoping that you'd take up Logan's role and watch out for her."

For a moment, it was clear that Hank was simply stunned, his lips slightly parted and his eyes wide. But when he cleared his throat, his voice still had a slight wobble to it. "Yes," he said softly. "Yes of course."

"Thank you, Henry," Ororo said. "That is enough to ease my mind at least a bit."

Hank reaches over and pulled her sharply to him in a one-armed hug with Mia between them. "I'm honored. Truly. I only wish it wasn't necessary to make that change."

"You and I both."

"You know, of course, that this gives me official license to spoil her rotten with every confection in my labs," Hank said after a moment.

"And when have you ever needed an excuse to do that?" Ororo replied with a sparkle to her gaze.

"It is novel to have the excuse," Hank laughed. "I may become even _worse_ than before!"

"As long as it brings you both happiness, then I am in favor."

Hank smiled and gave her one more squeeze. "I wish happiness for you too, you know. I know it is hard to find right now, but as Kurt would say, I have faith it can be found again."

"Now you sound like Kurt," she said.

"Coming from you, that is a high compliment indeed."

* * *

It was well past midnight when Rachel came in to Scott's room and very quietly woke her dad up. "Daddy, James isn't feeling very good," she said. "And he's real hot."

When he got to where the boys were sleeping, Rachel really wasn't wrong at all. James was burning up, his blanket wrapped around himself tightly and he was shivering in spite of the fever. Worse still, he really wasn't breathing very well or even answering questions for Scott either.

If it had just been the fever or a stuffy nose on its own, Scott would have tried to to help him through it on his own, but the fact that he was _that _feverish _and _struggling to breathe right?

Scott swore under his breath - and then had to tell Nate to _not _repeat that word, please - before he simply scooped James up and turned to Rachel. "Help Nate get his shoes on. We're going to take James to see Hank."

Rachel nodded quickly, her eyes wide. She was obviously scared, considering how much loss she had already seen, but to her credit, she managed to get Nate to put on his shoes (on the wrong feet) and helped to get him to the jet while Scott hurriedly grabbed a few things and then set the perimeter alarm before he jumped into the pilots seat.

"James is not okay," Nate said, shaking his head slowly.

"Yeah, I know," Scott said, trying to sound calmer than he felt. "What about you, bud?"

"I have a funny tummy feeling…"

"Me too," Rachel said quietly.

"Then everyone is going to go see Hank, okay? He can fix you up." Scott pushed the engines a little harder as he said it. "Everything is okay."

By the time they got to Hank, James was shivering hard enough to chatter his teeth in spite of the fact that he was absolutely cooking. And it had Scott that much more worried as he rushed past Steve and straight to Hank.

"Henry, James is sick," Scott called out as soon as he got in.

"I see that," Hank said as he made his way over. "How hot has he been?"

"When I checked at the cabin, it was 103," Scott said in a breath. "The other kids don't have it - yet - I don't know what - it just came out of nowhere-"

"Then let's try to get him cooled down," Hank said, directing Scott toward the showers. "Keep the water on the cooler side of warm."

Scott nodded and rushed off with James, while Steve stepped inside the lab and Rachel asked timidly, "is James gonna die?"

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Hank said, though he was gathering up a few things to make it easier to get James settled in once his temperature broke. He touched the very tip of her nose with one finger. "And I have plenty to say about it."

"I'm scared," Nate said from behind Rachel, holding onto his sister's hand with his blanket clenched tightly in his other hand.

Hank paused and let out a little breath. "And how are the two of you feeling tonight?"

"My tummy's twisty," Nate said.

Rachel nodded. "Me too."

Hank let out a little hum. "Captain Rogers, if you'd be so kind to take my two tiny patients and help them settle in until I get back - I'd like to check them both over. Scott will likely be a little while with young James."

Steve still looked blindsided, but when he saw the two obviously worried kids, he did his best to give them an encouraging smile. "Can you tell me about your jet ride?" Steve asked as he picked up Nate in one arm and Rachel in the other.

The two Summers kids glanced at each other and then nodded, quietly explaining to Steve all about how Rachel had gone to get their dad and how James had been shaking and it was _really scary_...

It took nearly half an hour, but finally, between the medications that Hank gave James and the cool water shower, the fever broke - and when it did, the little guy was entirely exhausted. Enough so that when they carried him back to the lab for a break - with an oxygen mask in place since he sounded rough - he was passed out to the world and Scott looked as if coffee wasn't going to be a requirement to stay conscious due to the high level of anxiety he was coping with.

"I'll get him started on a few medications," Hank said. "But the other little ones are fine. They could use your attention, and I'm sure I can round up enough volunteers to keep watch over James."

Scott nodded, though he still looked frazzled. "You'll let me know if anything changes…"

"Of course," Hank promised.

Scott nodded and let out a tired breath before he squeezed Hank's shoulder and crossed the room to where his kids had Steve pinned between them. "You guys okay?"

Nate nodded and held his arms out to be picked up. "I'm tired."

"Yeah, I know. Sorry you had to wake up," Scott said as he tucked Nate under his chin. "How about you, Rach?"

Rachel nodded. "Mister Steve said it's okay to be scared and it helped me and Nate to not have scared tummies."

Scott looked toward Steve and smiled slightly at that. "Smart."

"I can leave you three alone," Steve said as he got to his feet. "I'll just go see if Hank needs some coffee."

"Very likely," Scott said. "And thanks."

"Anytime," Steve replied, already doing his best to give them a bit of privacy while digging to see what the story was with the little guy in the lab.

"Bye, Mister Steve!" Rachel called out, halfway snuggled into her dad already as Nate started to drift off with his dad gently rocking him.

The three of them weren't alone for long though as Janet came around to play welcoming committee. "I've got a room set up for you three to stretch out and rest," she said quietly, offering to help get the two little ones there. "I may have snuck down to the lab and gotten a peek at little James … Hank says he'll be there for at least a day or two. He's got a nasty little case of pneumonia that popped up fast … on top of what Hank says _looks _like asthma." She shook her head lightly. "For a little guy that came from two people with healing, he really seems to have hit all the low points, poor sweetheart."

Scott raised an eyebrow at that but nodded all the same. "His parents never got sick with their powers. Maybe he'll grow out of it."

For a moment Jan paused and it was clear she was weighing out her words. "How are you doing, by the way? I mean … it's a lot. Three little angels … all by yourself... "

"I'm fine," Scott said in a tone Jan knew well.

"Oh. Of course you are. I know that," Jan said, waving one hand and shaking her head. "I mean look at how much they clearly _adore _you - you're doing _great!_ With them. But I meant … you know. You need to breathe a little too. If it helps …" She pulled her phone out and held it out for Scott to see that the picture she'd taken was of Steve keeping close track of James and obviously making sure that he was at the right angle to get air better. "Big. Squish. Star Spangled Squish."

Scott let out a minute breath. "Good," he said. "Hank's the only doctor I trust right now, so it's good for him to have support when we come out here."

"I don't blame you on that," Jan said. "Hank's great with the kids. You should see him being _ridiculous _when he reads to Mia."

"I've seen it," Scott said simply. "He and Kurt tried to outdo each other."

"The Ravenously Ridiculous Caterpillar?" Jan raised an eyebrow. "I swear that man ate a thesaurus."

"And that's when he's sober," Scott said dryly.

"Oh, but now I want to see how bad it is when he's _not_," Jan giggled as she skipped over to get a blanket. "I can help you get them settled in tonight - you have to be tired."

"I'm really fine," Scott insisted.

"Okay … but how about be fine over there snuggled up where you're all more comfy?" Jan suggested. "Look - Rachel's a little restless. That'd be easier out of the chair, right? I think. Please tell me if I'm wrong and I'll just be quiet and tuck you all in."

Scott shook his head, smirking despite himself. "Yeah, alright," he said, smirking a little more when Jan's response was instantaneous and _gleeful _as she rushed to help with the kids. And he did have to admit that he was tired, not that he'd say as much in front of the kids.

"You're spoiling Mia properly, right?" he asked once the kids were squared away.

"Proper is such a subjective word, Mr. Summers …" Jan said with a little shrug. "But … if you mean she is played with by every single person on the team and in the tower that's _close _to the team …. Then yes. Yes. She's being properly spoiled."

"Good. She's probably the most social of all the kids. She needs the attention or she starts pouting."

"Well we'll probably _never see that _the way things are going," Jan said with a little grin. "Even with the new girl - she's loving every minute that she's awake." She tipped her head. "It was rough sometimes to start … but … she's tough, you know?"

"Has to be with the parents she had," Scott said softly. "I think Nate's doing alright now too, and the fresh air _was _great for James until he came down with this _thing_. But Rachel … was old enough to understand it. It's going to take longer."

"If there's anything she might like - just … tip me off and I'll make some magic happen," Jan promised. "But … I know you want to peek in on James. It was clear you're still stressed about him."

"I can't screw up with that one," Scott told her simply.

"I don't think you're capable of that with him," Jan said. "He's little, and quiet, but I think he's a quick enough little guy. He'll be great with time." She was nodding to herself. "But … if you're worried? I can totally find you a children's therapist. Natasha would run them through her whole system to make sure they'd be on the up and up …."

"Maybe," Scott conceded. He paused. "It's just - Rachel used to tell her mom everything. Project it telepathically. So… we'll see."

"So she probably needs to learn new ways to communicate," Jan said, nodding. "I'll start looking. And I'll make sure they're all screened - and if you're nervous, I'm sure you could do it as a full family session, too. You know. To start with."

"That would be best. James gets nervous if he thinks he's being left behind. He still thinks he's going to be handed off to someone else," Scott said, his gaze on the sleeping kids and the worry evident in his tone. "Just last week he finally stopped looking for his parents to come back. He'd _been _watching out the windows every time he heard something. Took me a while to figure out what he was doing… he's been _more _quiet since then, somehow."

"He'll grow out of that," Jan said with a sad little smile as she rested her hand on his arm. "Especially with you watching out for him. He won't be able to ignore how much he's loved."

"We might be fighting genetics with that," Scott said dryly as he settled in with Rachel and Nate. He leaned his head toward Rachel as Nate slept on his chest. He absently rested his hand on the side of her head as he pulled her closer and kissed the top of her hair, and before he knew it, Scott had passed out with both of them curled up half on him. He'd been exhausted himself, and though he didn't mean to do it, he was out almost as fast as the kids.

* * *

Scott woke up with a blanket over his lap and a fuzzy blue face inches from his nose. Mia's fluffy white hair stuck up from all angles as her tail swayed behind her. "Hi." Before Scott could react, Mia leaned forward and kissed the end of his nose before she shimmied down and toddled off to find Rachel and Nate.

"Rachel has already been in to check on James," Ororo said from the far end of the couch. "He's very tired still, the poor little thing."

"How's he feeling other than tired?" Scott asked, sitting up and frowning around himself as he ran his hand though his hair. "Where's Rachel - and Nate?"

"James is a little out of it, to be perfectly honest," Ororo said. "And Rachel and Nate are with _Katie_."

"Who's that?" Scott asked with a frown. "I thought I knew the roster-"

"Katie is a force of nature disguised as a little girl that Natasha and I rescued not too long ago," she said with a sly smile. "There was a very short argument on who would adopt her between our Widow and Stark."

"I didn't think either of them were…" Scott shook his head. "Alright then."

"She's a lovely young lady, and they are perfectly safe and happy, for the moment, anyhow."

"Glad to hear it," Scott said, shaking his head as he ran a hand through his hair. He really hadn't meant to fall asleep. "And Mia? She's alright?"

"Obviously," Ororo replied. "She waited for you to wake up before she went back to her big sister, Katie."

"Oh, so you won the match between Widow and Stark?" Scott asked with the tiniest of smirks.

Ororo smiled wider at that. "No, but the girls seem convinced they should be sisters."

"And who are you to argue with them?" Scott said, shaking his head. "How old is Katie, then?"

"She's just a month younger than James," Ororo replied.

"Then she'll fit in well," Scott said. He paused. "And you?"

"I'm going out on missions again," Ororo said.

"Right." Scott let the word hang in the air between them without really meeting her gaze. "That's good."

"I know you can't leave for a few days at least, if nothing else because of James' health, but I can't help but think that this might be easier on all of you if you were to _stay_."

"I'm not doing that again, Ororo," Scott said in a tone that she'd heard before when he'd made up his mind. "I'm not mixing family and work. I won't let them live where a team is headquartered."

Ororo reached over to rest her hand on his arm. "I was only making sure you knew the door was open. You know I won't try to force it."

Scott let out a breath and then at least tried to look less like he was holding his breath. "I know," he said. "But you know I need to keep them safe."

"I know," Ororo said gently. "As do I."

"You and Mia - if you change your mind, you're welcome…"

"I think we'll see how this works, first," Ororo said. "The Avengers are trying _very _hard. I won't ignore their efforts."

For a second, Scott looked like he was biting back a comment before he nodded. "And you've never been one to sit still, either."

"Neither are you, but I can imagine with three little ones, that won't be an issue."

"No, it's not," Scott said with the hint of a smirk. "Rachel is naming the deer."

"So they still come up to the cabin?" Ororo asked, smiling in spite of herself when she was fighting the aching sensation of loss.

Scott nodded. "You should see James with them, 'Ro. He-" He paused. "It's … he's a good kid."

"Yes, he is," Ororo agreed before she slid over and simply wrapped him up in a hug.

If it had been anyone else, Scott would have tightly returned it, but with Ororo, he let out a breath and put his head on her shoulder as he hugged her for a good long time. "He's just like them," he said in a breath of a whisper as she wrapped him up warmly, fighting the urge to melt and weep with him.

"I would expect nothing less," Ororo replied just as softly, doubling down on the hug.

"And then there's Mia and Rachel…" Scott shook his head. "How are you - I know it's-"

"It's not easy," Ororo admitted. "But she has Kurt's pure _joy _in life."

"That helps," Scott agreed, leaning back slightly. Ororo would never tell him, but losing the visor made him _so _easy to read. He was more expressive than he realized because he was used to hiding his eyes, and that just made the grief easy to see. "Nate's got a lot of me in him. He's looking out for James like it's his mission in life, even if James is older."

Ororo couldn't help but let out a hollow chuckle. "He's practically your carbon copy."

"Jean was happy about that," Scott said, looking beyond her at the wall that was easier to talk to. "Rachel looks so much like her…"

"That will only intensify as she grows up," Ororo said.

"Mia will be the same way," Scott said. "If she ends up teleporting…"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," she replied. "And I hope … that before then I have a new place for her to learn all that comes with it."

Scott frowned and turned sharply to face her. "What?"

"I plan to eventually reopen the school," Ororo said, drawing herself up slightly. "I've thought about it a lot, and I know that it's needed now more than ever."

"Ororo, you saw what happened. You can't-"

"I did," she agreed. "And for that much, you're right. Mixing the team with family was disastrous. But that doesn't mean we can turn our back on all that we were _taught_."

Scott held his breath. "It's a risk," he said. "I don't know if I can help … I need to…"

"I wouldn't ask you," Ororo said. "I know how much you lost. But when this finally happens, when I have the school running again, I will step away from any kind of hero work. I know, Scott. The X-Men are over. I won't even consider bringing that back."

"I just don't want it to happen again," Scott said, putting a hand on her arm. "Mia can't lose you."

"No, but I can't get the other children out of my mind either," Ororo said. "There are still so many that have lost as much as we have - or as much as our little ones have. Charles' school needs to be there to catch them. Even if they only learn to _control _their abilities. Not use them."

Scott sighed. "Yeah. I know," he said in that breath.

"I still believe that Charles had the right idea," Ororo said. "But it was simply too early."

"He-" Scott swallowed. "-was ahead of his time. Yeah."

Ororo smiled tightly. "You should probably check in on your _three_."

"Right." Scott got to his feet and then pulled Ororo to hers as well for a tight hug. "Whatever you need, you know I'll be there for you."

"And the offer stands true for you, as well," Ororo said.

Scott nodded to himself, thinking deeply about what Ororo had said, though he was still processing it as he got to the med bay. James was still tired and out of it, but apparently, the Avengers were taking turns, and Jan was curled around the little guy and clearly enjoying herself as he slept.

"How's he doing?" Scott asked.

"I'm probably the wrong person to ask," Jan said. "But he's exhausted. Obviously."

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," Scott said, sitting down next to the two of them and not really asking before he scooped James up - and the little guy curled right into him like that was where he fit.

"Kinda scary to see him like this though," Jan said, wrapping her arms around herself and shrugging her shoulders high.

"I didn't know he had asthma," Scott admitted.

"Well to be fair," Jan said. "It sounded like Hank didn't know either. So. Maybe it's new?"

"Maybe," Scott said. "I don't really know enough about the family medical history to know if it's…"

"Again, I doubt _they _knew either, so … right." Jan watched them for a moment before she reached over to gently brush the hair out of James' face.

"Yeah, I think everyone is making that face right now," Scott said dryly.

"Do you want me to leave?" Jan asked, though she managed to not make it sound like a threat or an accusation.

"I'm not kicking you out," Scott said, shaking his head.

"I know. But … I don't want … you know what? I'll just … how about I bring a little coffee over for you?"

"That would be great, thanks," Scott said. "I wanted to check on James and find Nate and Rachel - I know they were freaked out too."

"Do you want me to tell them where you are?"

"Please," Scott said.

"You got it," Jan said, doing her best to put on her usually cheery demeanor, but still falling short as she turned on her heel and headed off, leaving Scott alone with James for a minute.

While she was gone, Scott took a moment to check James over, to listen to his breathing and to make sure that he was, well, as healthy as possible for the moment. It was such a relief to have him on the mend that he wasn't aware the door had opened again after several long minutes until Nate and Rachel rushed over.

Scott grinned and carefully set James down so he could catch both of his kids in a hug. "Are you running the Avengers into the ground?" he asked at just over a whisper, his tone forcibly brighter than it had been before.

"Dr. Blue says we're a force 'a' nature!" Rachel told him proudly.

"So that's a yes," Scott said.

"I helped," Nate told him, climbing up his side until Scott picked him up instead of just hugging him. "I made PB&J!"

"Who helped you?" Scott asked.

"Umm, Arrow Guy."

Scott smirked at that. "You made sure he cut it in triangles for you, right?"

"Uh-huh." Nate snuggled into Scott's shoulder.

Scott had one hand on Nate's back and the other on Rachel's shoulder as he looked up at Jan, who was watching the whole thing from the doorway. "Thanks."

"No problem," Jan said as she zipped over to set his coffee down on the table next to them. "When you're ready to take a break from things here, let me know. I don't mind snuggling up with the little guy."

"You can come play with Katie and Mia too," Rachel told Scott.

"We got cars," Nate agreed, then reached into his pocket to show Scott the toy car he'd stolen from the toy bucket upstairs. "Blue, like me and Daddy!"

"That's right," Scott said, nodding quietly before he glanced up at Jan again, one-handedly grabbing the coffee. "Are you sure you don't mind staying with him? You'll let me know if anything changes?"

"I don't mind, really," Jan said. "And if anything changes at all - if he so much as flutters a lash, I'll let you know."

"Thanks." Scott smiled wryly. "I only have two hands."

"And they're full of snuggles," Jan said, smiling.

"Daddy needs hugs," Rachel informed Jan. "Hugs are good for if you're sad."

"He sure does, and it looks like you give the best ones," Jan said.

Rachel nodded and rushed over to Jan to hug her too. "I like giving hugs because I'm sad too and Daddy says when you hug, it's like you're getting wrapped up warm."

"He's right," Jan said. "But even when I'm happy I like hugs."

"So I can hug you lots?" Rachel asked.

Jan tossed her hands up. "Any old time you want."

"Didja hear that, Dad?"

"Looks like you found a willing victim," Scott said without missing a beat - or looking up from where Nate was almost nose to nose with him telling him about his friend Mia.

"Victim?" Jan blew her bangs out of her face. "No such thing as a hug victim."

"Uh-huh," Rachel insisted. "There is if you do a hug tackle and knock 'em over!"

Jan put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Um. No. That is a shortcut to a snuggle, that's all!"

"Okay, but you're wrong," Rachel said, one eyebrow raised.

"We'll just have to see about that, little miss Rachel."

"I'm almost seven; I'm not _little_."

"Well, _I'm _still little and I'm all grown up," Jan said.

"You're weird," Rachel said, wrinkling her nose at Jan.

"I'm just used to being smaller than everyone around me," Jan said, tipping her nose up as she tried to get a smile out of Rachel, but when that didn't cut it, she blew her bangs back again and then shrunk down.

Rachel blinked once and then burst out into delighted laughter, and Nate came tumbling over to see what was going on. "Daddy, Daddy, look! Did you see? Did you see?"

"Neat party trick," Scott said with a smirk.

"It's worth the laughs sometimes," Jan said, still tiny.

"Yeah, I know. You should have seen the carving I could do with a fine beam to show off for the kids too."

"Oooh, I'll bet that was amazing," Jan said. "But … I think I can take my party trick out of here if you're soaking in the snuggles." A moment later, she'd grown back to full size and tuned back to Rachel. "We can play hide and seek with Katie if you think you can spot me."

"Race you there!" Rachel said - already running toward the door and giggling madly.

"Is that okay?" Jan said at the door, looking worried. "We'll just be in the play room."

"That's fine. I'm just going to ask Hank about what I need to take care of James long-term and I'll probably join you," Scott said as he picked the little guy up again.

"Okay, well. They might need your help anyhow. But Katie is kind of _amazing _at this game," Jan said.

"I'm sure you'll make them work for it," Scott pointed out. "And cheat."

"Oh, absolutely," Jan said. "I'm wildly out numbered! I have to!"

"Yeah, that's the reason," he said with a dry smirk.

"Alright mister, we'll see who cheats first," Jan said, leveling one finger at him. "Just wait!" with that, she headed off at a jog to catch up to the girls who were already squealing with laughter from down the hall.


	10. Gifted Youngsters

**Chapter 10 - Gifted Youngsters**

* * *

_(Four years later)_

The new Xavier Institute had only been up and running for a couple of years, but it was finally getting to a point where things had leveled out. Since there were no X-Men, and since they didn't teach the students anything more than how to control their abilities and then to _hide _them as much as possible, no one really bothered the residents at the school. Of course, there were some repercussions from it. Ororo herself barely caved to temptation to use her own abilities and tried to keep her flights and moments in the wind confined to storms that were already passing overhead. Yes, it was restrictive and more than a little sad, but … it kept the students safe and showed anyone that was paying attention that there really weren't any more X-Men in the world.

Thankfully, groups like the Friends of Humanity and their like had largely lost public support _because _things had been so quiet… and largely because of the Avengers' outlook, as well. The first time a sitting US senator had called for action against mutants, Ororo had actually seen the change that came over Captain Rogers' expression - since the school hadn't been built yet at the time, so she had seen the full response.

The next thing she knew, the good captain was all over international news, telling any reporter who would give him a microphone (and there were several) that the Avengers would destroy any groups that practiced hate, including and especially anti-mutant groups.

So while the X-Men were gone, the Avengers didn't let things get quite as bad as they had with the Friends of Humanity - though the anti-mutant fervor stayed under the surface all the same, in little things like graffiti on the fences or hate crimes in the cities. But nothing _systematic_, and that was something, at least.

As for Ororo herself, she'd finally gotten into what felt like a more normal routine, and as soon as she had begun to really move on, Forge had shown up to help with the school, and in no time, Mia as well.

Which was good, because it was clear that the older Mia got, the more she had her father's mischievous side - and that wasn't always good for a school that tried to stay out of the spotlight. She was all of five years old, but she was already telling everyone who would listen that she wanted to be a pirate - "or at least a X-Men!" which was hard to correct her on while also honoring the stories Ororo wanted to be sure she heard about Kurt.

At the moment, though, she was hanging off of Forge's arm by her tail and grinning up at him crookedly. "You gotta _play_," she told him. "You're supposed to be the bad guy!"

"I told you, I don't know _how _to be the bad guy," Forge teased.

"Well, you can be a dragon and just roar a lot," she reasoned. "And then I can _vain-squish _you!"

"Don't you think I can be a knight?" Forge asked, waving at her with his metal fingers before he scooped her up and started tickling her.

Mia burst into delighted laughter, squirming around until he stopped and she could throw her arms around his neck in a hug. "You're so silly!"

Forge smiled as he pulled her closer and kissed her cheek. "Only when I've got someone fun to play with."

"I love you," Mia said, grinning at him widely.

"I love you too, little goddess," Forge said before he tossed her in the air and let her climb onto his shoulders.

Mia was grinning as the two of them caught up to Ororo, who was in the gardens as usual. Those had taken the longest time to replace, but she had kept at it, and for the first time, they were starting to bloom in splendor much like she used to see in her gardens.

"Hi, Mom," Mia called out from Forge's shoulder. "My Forge is silly!"

"He certainly is," Ororo agreed before she leaned close enough to kiss his cheek. "And we like him silly, don't we?"

Mia giggled when Forge stole a proper kiss in response. "He's _ours_, huh, Mom?"

Ororo smiled at that. "For as long as he stays with us, yes."

"Oh, so forever," Mia said confidently, which had Forge laughing.

"Looks like you've trained the teachers well in who actually runs the place," called out a familiar voice - and Storm looked over in surprise to see that Scott was there with all three of his own kids. It was a rare occasion to see them there, after all. The boys were talking with their heads together, but Rachel was attached to her dad and wouldn't let go of his arm, looking distressed and overwhelmed and hiding her face as they got closer.

It was a surprise to see them there when Scott had made it a point never to come to the school. He'd invited Ororo and Mia to Christmas a few months prior, but for the most part, they kept to themselves, fishing and hunting and attending school in the small town a hundred miles north of Westchester. If not for the fact that Ororo knew better, she would have even said they looked the part of a small town family, in jeans and plain shirts; Scott even had a beard, and Rachel normally had her hair in braids, though it was down and she was using it to hide her face this time.

Mia grinned, faster to blink out of surprise than Ororo was, and bent over nearly backwards to wave Scott's way. "Hi, Scott!"

Scott smirked and waved right back. "Hi, Mia. Can I borrow your mom for a minute? You can play with Nate and James."

"Okay," Mia said happily, and Forge set her down so that she could rush over to her friends. It didn't take long before all three of the younger kids were chasing each other through the garden - and Forge went with them to give Scott some privacy to talk with Ororo.

Scott took a deep breath and let it out, one hand on the back of Rachel's head as the little redhead tried to disappear into his side - though she was getting old enough that it was harder for her to hide now that she was taller. "She's a telepath," Scott explained, getting right to the heart of the problem, as usual.

Ororo took just a moment to blink at the two of them before she couldn't stop the growing smile. "Well that's good news, isn't it?" Ororo said.

"Yeah, you could have gotten my powers and had to hide your eyes," Scott said Rachel's way, though she held on tighter, and he sighed. "It's overwhelming," he said.

"I'd imagine it would be easier where the four of you are," Ororo said before she gestured for them to take a seat.

"Yeah…" Scott trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck. "She's having a hard time with … with _me_, honestly," he said in a breath, and it was clear to hear in his tone how much the admission hurt.

Ororo straightened up at that. "Scott."

"I know. I don't let the kids see it, but every time she brushes my mind, it feels like Jean and-" Scott cut himself off.

"Betsy is here," Ororo said. "I know she'd be more than happy to help in any way she can."

Scott nodded, his shoulders relaxing. "Thank you."

Ororo offered Rachel her hand. "Do you remember Betsy?" she asked.

Rachel nodded quietly. "Yeah. I like her hair."

"She cut her hair since the last time you saw her," Ororo told her. "It's very short."

Rachel nodded shyly. "Okay."

Scott let out a breath and then simply picked Rachel up and gestured for Ororo to lead the way. "Come on, Rach. Betsy is one of the best."

"Not like Mom," Rachel said quietly - and Ororo could see the moment Scott almost lost a step before he shook his head.

"No, but she can still help you."

When they got to Betsy, she was sitting with Warren, quietly having tea, though to say that Warren looked ragged would have been a massive understatement. He simply didn't have much of a chance to stretch his wings anymore - and it showed. Both of them looked up when the three of them walked into the room, and both of them looked positively relieved to see Scott there. "We need to find you a razor," Warren said.

"You'd scare half the elementary school teachers. I'm a regular fixture, and they wouldn't recognize me," Scott said dryly.

"Maybe they need to be shaken up," Warren replied as he got to his feet and ruffled his feathers as he stretched. It was just an instant before Warren offered him his hand, and when Scott took it, he pulled him into a brief, tight hug. "It's been too long, stranger."

"You haven't noticed when you've got Betsy," Scott shot back with the beginnings of a smile.

"Are you kidding? I can hardly leave the house. I've noticed."

Scott shook his head as he looked over his old friend. "You do look worn down."

"No room to fly, don't want to draw attention," Warren explained.

Scott let out a sigh and nodded. "That's the one nice thing about ditching the shades. Seems like no one knew what I looked like under there. We're flying under the radar pretty well."

"Someone will notice you got a few good looking kids sooner or later," Warren laughed as he smiled at Rachel. "Even if they all aren't color coordinated to you."

Rachel smiled shyly up at him. "Hi, Warren."

"Hey gorgeous," Warren said. "You here to steal my Betsy?"

Rachel nodded. "Yes, please."

"Alright, but only because it's _you,_" Warren said before he ruffled her hair and threw an arm around Scott's shoulders. "Why don't you have a little tea, Miss Rachel? I'll take care of your Dad for a little while, okay?"

"He needs it," Rachel said, and Scott scoffed.

"You're trouble, Rach," he told her, and she smiled lightly.

Once the others were gone, though, Rachel looked up at Betsy, and her lower lip started to quiver as she finally stopped trying to hold it in. "I don't wanna die," she whispered out as the first tear started to fall.

Betsy was shocked, but she pulled the little girl over to wrap her up in a hug all the same. "What in the world makes you think you're going to die?"

"Dad thinks it," Rachel blurted out as she latched onto Betsy and clung to her shirt. "All the time. He thinks about Mom and her fire and the Phoenix and I've got fire when I touch his mind and _I don't want to die_!"

Betsy was on the verge of losing it herself as she pulled Rachel tighter, wrapping herself around her. "He's worried, Rachel. But it's not your fault, and I think you'll be alright with some training. We can help you build up your psychic defenses, we can make sure you learn to control your powers, and I can help you to keep out of other people's minds. If you like."

"Mom couldn't stop, though," Rachel said, still scared and holding on tight. "I can feel it in my dreams and I don't want to!"

"Your mother couldn't stop because she was wrapped up in grief and rage," Betsy said. "You have to learn to not let the fear and bad feelings control you."

Rachel nodded and buried her face in Betsy's shoulder, crying hard in a way that Betsy could hear without even brushing her mind - since Rachel was projecting pretty loudly - Rachel had tried to hold back because she could hear how scared not only Scott was but her little brothers, who had picked up on that specific type of fear and were worried themselves.

When Rachel had finally finished crying, she finally looked up at Betsy, who was emotional herself. "You're scared too."

"I'm afraid for you," Betsy said before she cupped Rachel's face in her hands. "I know that you can be strong enough to control it, but I also know how hard it is to focus when you're scared and worried about the people you love."

Rachel nodded, her eyes wide as she met Betsy's gaze. "I wish I had Dad's powers," she said. "I don't want to be a telepath. And I _really _don't want to be the Phoenix."

"Sweetheart, we don't get to pick what we are," Betsy said.

"I know," she said. She let her shoulders drop. "Dad thinks you can help me. He was happy to hear you're teaching here."

Betsy smiled at her. "That's because I'm a telepath too. So I can not only tell you, but I can show you, and even help you to see what you need to do to control things."

Rachel nodded. "Yes, please."

And while Betsy and Rachel talked a little more about Rachel's powers, Scott was in the hallway talking with Warren, shaking his head as he looked around the school. "It doesn't feel the same," he said. "Or maybe I'm just not used to seeing it in color."

"It's a little bit of both," Warren said. "I'm pretty sure, anyhow. It _doesn't _feel quite the same. But the color … that's … it's pretty close to what it always was."

"I wouldn't know," Scott said. "I'm sorry you're grounded, Warren."

"It's still better than some of the alternatives," Warren replied.

"Believe me, I know," Scott said softly, then cleared his throat. "But Ororo's right. Kids still need this place. Rachel needs it, for one thing."

"A lot of them need it," Warren said seriously. "It's a good thing that Betsy and I are still around and kicking in, too. We get more kids every year. Some of them _can't _go anywhere else because of the physical mutations they've got. We're planning a new wing just to house them."

"I know Mia was complaining this Christmas about sticking to the school. She wants to see the world."

"It's just too dangerous right now, Scott," Warren admitted. "And the old image inducers don't cut it like they used to."

Scott frowned at that. "I haven't heard it was that bad."

"Components are hard to come by and some of the MRD guys have little devices that fry them. It's been driving Stark up the wall."

"I thought the MRD was mostly defunct after Captain America busted up their main headquarters."

Warren raised an eyebrow. "They're targeting mostly physically mutated people, but it's not defunct."

"I've been more out of touch than I thought, then." Scott ran a hand through his hair. "It's been really busy. James' teachers have been running him through a bunch of of tests. He's already skipped two grades like it was nothing. And then he came down with chickenpox and gave it to the other kids…"

"Wait," Warren said, holding one hand out. "He's skipped how many grades? And in how long?"

"Two grades this year," Scott said.

"How …" Warren let out a breath. "And with as sick as he is, that's … a little bit wild, isn't it?"

"Yeah, if he hadn't come down with chickenpox, we had a test lined up with some specialists, but then this thing with Rachel happened and we haven't had time to reschedule…" Scott looked honestly exhausted just talking about it.

"I'm sure if you're around for a few days, Storm could line something up for you. She's still pretty tight with the Avengers - if nothing else because they're still bending over backwards trying to make up for … everything."

"I'd appreciate it the help with him," Scott said, shaking his head. "He gets restless when he doesn't have anything to keep him engaged."

"Or, we could just call up Hank," Warren said, already offering Scott his phone.

Scott chuckled at that. "You never were patient," he said.

"I don't want to interrupt Storm and Forge," Warren corrected. "They're getting really serious."

"They were pretty close when they came for Christmas. I know Mia thinks the world of him."

"She calls him 'my Forge'," Warren told him as he hit the button to call Hank. He smiled at Scott for just a moment as Hank picked up the line. "I have someone here who has a question for you about placement tests." He didn't wait for a response from Hank before handing Scott the phone and waving him on.

Scott shook his head at his old friend. "Hey, Hank. Got a minute?"

"For you, I have all the time in the world," Hank replied.

Scott smiled lightly. "I need to meet up with you or have you come to Storm's school and run some tests for James."

"Is there a problem?" Hank asked, sounding concerned.

"No," Scott promised quickly, knowing that Hank had seen James through _many _illnesses. "No, it's not his health. He's skipped two grades already, and I need to know where to take him so he's getting the academic challenge he needs."

Hank was quiet for a long moment at that - simply not having expected that kind of news. "I shall consult with my peers and find a reasonable solution. How long are you in town?"

"A few days. Rachel's registering for classes."

"Already?" Hank asked, sounding surprised. "We can be there tomorrow, I'm sure. While Ororo is working out a schedule for Rachel."

"Thanks, Hank."

* * *

When Hank arrived along with Tony, Jan, and Bruce Banner, the four Avengers were surprised by just _who _greeted them first - as Nate Summers came tumbling over and positively _latched _onto Hank with a troublemaking grin.

Though before he could even say hello, James came running around the corner soaking wet and wielding a water pistol that he'd clearly stolen from Nate after the initial attack - and James didn't have any hesitation about hitting Hank along with Nate, either.

"Harboring a fugitive!" James called out. "Also Hi."

"Hi, Hank!" Nate said, grinning and wet and laughing.

Hank smirked and scooped Nate up - though he was sure to dramatize an 'oof' as he did so. "You're getting too big for this."

"I'm gonna be as big as my dad!" Nate agreed.

"Maybe bigger," Hank said with a laugh.

Nate nodded seriously and then waved at the other three Avengers. "Hi. You missed it. I totally _nailed _James."

"Sure looks like you did," Tony agreed, looking entirely amused at the whole situation.

"I'm a crack shot. Dad says so," Nate said proudly.

"And what about you, James?" Jan asked with a grin. "I see you got his gun."

"I fought him for it," James said as he set the water pistol down.

"He cheated," Nate said. "He licked my hand!"

"Not my fault you're squeamish."

"You _bit me _last time!"

"I'll bite you again if you stick your hand in my face, too."

"Is this typical?" Bruce asked Tony, though Bruce was smirking hard and obviously amused.

"Little boys," Tony said with a laugh.

"So typical," Jan laughed before she booped Nate on the nose. "Hey, do you want to show me around while your brother takes a test?"

"Okay," Nate said. "We can go play with my dad and Mia!"

Jan flashed a smile at the other Avengers. "Have fun, boys. _I'm _taking my sharpshooter," she said, letting Nate take her hand to lead her out to the gardens, where Scott was watching Mia very carefully and methodically put flower petals in a pattern on the rocks, singing a song to herself the whole time - at least until she saw Nate, and then she roped her friend into playing with her and it wasn't long before they were screaming and laughing and dragging the adults into a game of tag.

As for James, he was more than a little out of his comfort zone with the adults around him. He didn't care that he was dripping wet, but he didn't really spend much time with any of them anymore - and Bruce Banner was definitely a new addition.

"If you gentlemen wouldn't mind," Ororo said as she rested her hands on James' shoulders. "My office is open for you to set up, I'll get our little friend dried off."

James looked up at her, tipping his head back to do so, and as soon as they were away from the three Avengers, he blurted out "But I didn't do anything wrong."

Ororo shook her head and crouched down to his level. "You're not in trouble," she promised. "Your father told me about how you've skipped a few grades-"

"Only because they were boring," James said quickly. "And it wasn't my idea."

"Exactly." Ororo nodded and smiled gently before she rested her hand on his shoulder. "Your father wants to find you a class that won't be boring, so I asked three very smart people to come here and see just how clever you are. That way, your classes won't be boring."

James thought about it for a moment. "Will I have to go somewhere else like Rachel?"

"If you do, I know for a fact your father will go with you, though I don't know that it would be much of a challenge here for you," Ororo said. "Rachel is going to school here because she'll need to learn to control her abilities; maybe you'll move closer to the city to keep the family close."

James frowned at that, but didn't respond, instead remaining silent as he let Ororo lead him down the hall to get changed and dried off. When they got to her office - dry and ready to go, it was clear he was still mulling things over.

"Are you nervous?" Ororo asked kindly.

"No," James lied, shaking his head.

"I had to ask. You looked like you might be."

"I don't think I'm smart enough for this." He shrunk in on himself as he watched the three brainiacs manage a few final adjustments. "I can just stay in the class they put me in. I won't cause any trouble. I promise. It's fine."

Ororo let her shoulders drop before she turned James to face her and draw his attention away from three of the brightest minds on the planet. "I tell you what, my little friend. You can give it your best shot, and no one will be upset with you if you're not smarter than Albert Einstein," she teased him lightly. "I promise you, James, this is only to see what grade you should be in and if you _should _be in a different school. We all know you're smart, James; we just want to know _how _smart." She ran her hand though his hair with a sedate sort of smile as he watched her. "But you must promise me that you will try your very best."

"I don't want to leave," James whispered to her softly, and all at once, she took in how stressed out the little guy looked and pulled him into a hug.

"You don't have to, James, I promise you. You can stay with your dad and your brother and sister."

"But we'd have to move, you even said so - and we just got comfy where we are," James said as Ororo held on tighter, though she had to keep a fine handle on her self control when he continued in an even quieter whisper. "Dad doesn't sleep when we move."

"Does that mean you don't sleep too?" Ororo asked quietly, to which James glanced over to the Avengers and barely nodded. She forced a smile into place and kept one hand on the side of his face to make sure his attention was on her. "He's only watching out for you all. But you don't have to worry. And you're getting far ahead of yourself. Take the test first, then I'll make sure your voice is heard on whatever the next step is."

She could feel the tears prickling at the corners of her eyes as her next words bubbled up on their own. "Have a little faith, my sweet boy." James stopped what he was doing and glanced up at her with _such _a familiar expression … that was all the more striking when she could see Logan so clearly in his features.

James looked over at the three men in the room and bit his lip, missing the struggle Ororo was having with her emotions. It took a moment, but he turned their way and squeezed Ororo's hand as she joined him for the walk over so he could at least see what they _wanted_.

Ororo kept by his side as long as he wanted her there, too, though as James got more invested in the tests, she was able to step back slowly to observe.

And for James, though at first he was nervous, it all seemed like a bunch of stupid games that each one of the adults would play with him. Before long, the games were broken up with memory tests, reading and comprehension evaluations, and some math that was well above what they knew he already had down.

Ororo knew it was going well when Tony showed James how to work out an equation with a bubbling _joy _that she honestly hadn't seen from him in quite some time. When Tony gave him a new problem with a similar format, James hardly slowed down to solve it. It wasn't super high level for the adults in the room, but for a kid that wasn't even ten yet, it was pretty clear that he was picking things up as fast as they could put it in front of him.

Which honestly turned into a whole lot of fun for Tony, Hank, and Bruce as they decided to see exactly how far they could push the kid without prepping him properly. And once James was invested in the 'games', he barely noticed that the test had transitioned slightly - and he didn't notice Tony recording parts of it on his phone, either.


	11. So Much Potential

**Chapter 11 - So Much Potential**

* * *

Eventually, Jan and Scott had managed to get two overly energetic kids inside, fed, watered, and in front of a kid-appropriate movie while they ate their graham crackers and milk. If that wasn't impressive enough, the snacks didn't come until _after _they made sure the kids had their healthy lunch first - something that entertained Jan to no end when Nate seemed perfectly used to Scott laying out the rules, even when Mia wanted to negotiate getting graham crackers first.

The two adults were both finally getting to sit down and have something to eat themselves, though Jan was sure Scott wasn't even thinking about it as he got out the sandwich supplies for both of them like it was normal to just make food for whoever was in front of him.

"Ham or turkey?" he asked over his shoulder as he got started building sandwiches.

"Oh … whichever," Jan said, her shoulders up to her ears as she leaned on the counter watching him go into autopilot.

Scott shrugged, and a few minutes later, he sat down next to her and slid her some lunch. "Nate doesn't get to play with younger kids very often. He's used to bringing up the rear."

"He's keeping up great," Jan said, and was sure to thank him, even if it was wild to watch autopilot dad on _Cyclops_.

"What about you? I thought for sure you'd be next. Last time I really talked to Natasha, it had sounded like you were going that way and she was expecting a boy after their little girl a couple years ago, but we haven't been in regular contact."

Jan frowned at that. "Yeah, I haven't … really been seeing anyone seriously enough to get that far," she said.

Scott frowned and turned her way with a confused expression. "I thought you and Hank…"

"No," she said, shaking her head quickly, though for how she said it, it was clear something had happened. "No. That is waaaay over."

Scott froze, realizing he'd hit a nerve but not sure which _one_. "I'm sorry."

She turned toward him with wide eyes. "No, no. No. It's better this way. Really. He wasn't the guy I thought he was." She put on a forced smile. "He's not on the team either, so there's that, too." She shook her head. "I can't believe you didn't hear about that. It was kind of … public."

"I've been keeping my head down, Jan. If it didn't reach my small town or if it wasn't something one of our friends said in a visit…"

"Yeah, I know. It was kind of national news for a minute there, though. I mean … it's not every day Captain America _bodily _throws someone out of the tower."

"Well, now I'm curious," Scott said with the smallest smirk at the corner of his mouth.

"Hank lost his temper," Jan said, shrugging lightly. "And Steve … lost his, too."

Scott frowned as he put together what it was Jan wasn't saying. "I would have thrown him out too."

"You don't know that for sure," Jan said, forcing a little laugh. "Circumstances …"

"You think there weren't a few parents I was ready to put through a wall back when the X-Men were rescuing kids from bad home situations?" Scott shook his head. "If it hadn't been for our creed, there would have been more people-shaped holes in walls."

"Now you're sounding like my therapist."

"Must be a rotten therapist, then," Scott said without missing a beat. "Everyone I talk to around here says I need one, so yours might be a little nuts if they're agreeing with me."

"Well, it was a therapist that Tony found for me, so, you know … she might be biased."

"Yeah, that's why I haven't gone to any of the ones Storm recommended."

"Because they might agree with you or back you up?"

"Because they already know the story, and I'm not interested in rehashing it."

"Maybe you can be my therapist, since you _don't _know the story," Jan said.

Scott smirked and leaned back, gesturing with one hand. "I'd be terrible at it."

"Yeah, but it sounds like you're the one person in the country that hasn't heard it," Jan teased.

"I know. I'm slipping," Scott said. "Used to be I knew everything before even the Avengers did."

"No, no, you've got much better things to concern yourself with," Jan said. "And the Avengers didn't know … well. Nearly as much as we should have." She leaned toward him. "Between you and me? It's a pattern. I blame the guys in charge of information gathering."

"Well, did you put Katie in charge yet? Because the last time I saw her, she told me she _was_."

"She thinks she is," Jan said, nodding. "And she was mad she wasn't around when Cap threw Hank out."

"Anyone who hears that is mad they missed it. It sounds like a good show," Scott pointed out.

"Not really," Jan said. "It started with Tony, really - there was a lot of yelling, took his clearances, banned him from the workshop _loudly, _and you know, Tony's really not much of a yeller? So that drew in Steve … and, well … the two of them yelling in agreement is _definitely weird_, but ... " She gestured openly. "I thought Tony was going to hit him."

"I'm glad he's out of your life, then," Scott said. "And I'm sorry for what happened."

"I've gotten worse on the job," she said, the closest she'd say outright to a confirmation of what had happened.

"That's the thing, though," Scott said. "Even on the rare times Jean and I managed to get in each other's way on the job - which, by the way, I wouldn't recommend when Rachel comes into her own - it was a string of apologies, and it was all accidental, and we felt rotten for _weeks_. That? That's not the same thing."

She shrugged up one shoulder. "I still shouldn't have gone into the lab when I did."

Scott frowned and leaned forward, one hand on her wrist without thinking about it. "No way," he said sharply. "_Nothing _that happened is your fault. Don't even think it."

She smiled at him for just a moment. "Well, sure. I know that? But it doesn't change how I think about it."

"Yeah, you sound like-" Scott let out his breath. "Well, it's pretty common in the job."

"Yeah," she said, then quietly watched the kids for a moment before she reached over to steal a potato chip off his plate. "But here I am bringing you down, and I'm not supposed to do that."

"Oh, I didn't realize I came with rules of engagement," Scott said dryly.

"No, no, you don't," Jan clarified. "_I _do. I'm supposed to just … not do this."

"I'm not sure what 'this' is that you're avoiding, unless it's telling me about what's been going on in your life," Scott pointed out.

"Wow, you're really good at looking for stuff like that, Scott, _no_," Jan said, shaking her head. "I'm not supposed to get all wrapped up thinking about what happened with Hank. And I stink at that."

"You're talking to the wrong person, Jan. My daughter got telepathy and immediately freaked out because she could hear me panicking about her mom's powerset," Scott said, his smile tighter than before.

"That actually seems totally sensible though," Jan said. "At least as a first reaction. All things considered."

"Well, that makes you the first person to think so," Scott said, shaking his head.

"Then I must be nuts, right?" Jan teased. "I mean, it's not like I'm avoiding dating anyone because of this - or that the rare times I've considered it, I ended up shrinking down and flying off instead of going through with it because … well. _The pity look._"

"Jan, I'm active at an elementary school PTA of mostly women. I'm _well-versed _in that look," Scott said, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling.

"Then … don't throw stones, crazy person."

"Wasn't trying to," Scott promised, both hands raised.

"PTA, huh?" Jan asked after a long while.

"Hey, I used to run strategy for dozens of X-Men. I can handle a book drive or two."

"I'm not judging," Jan said. "Just sounds like a nice change of pace."

"The kids need to know I've got their backs," Scott said with a shrug.

Jan nodded and let out a sigh. "We were talking about kids before the .. ah … the thing."

"You'd be great. Nate was already saying he wants to come back and play with 'the nice lady,' so I think you're winning him over," Scott said with a smirk.

"Ooh, good," Jan said. "Maybe he'll remember my name when you come by next."

"Might be more often with Rachel going here," Scott admitted. "We've never been apart longer than a day - and only because I had to stay with James during a few overnight hospital visits while Natasha watched the kids with Katie, Clint, and Lexi."

"So what you're saying is that I've been _robbed _this whole time by that arrow slinger?"

"A...pparently," Scott said slowly, smiling despite himself that _that _was the direction she'd taken with that information.

"Unbelievable," she said under her breath. "Undercut by a freakin' cold war spy and her corn dog-breathed boy-toy."

"No, Jan, tell me how you really feel," Scott chuckled.

She turned his way and gave him a falsely angry side eye - not that she could sustain it. "I think I may have _already_," Jan said. "But … since you asked - that is _totally _a mistake. They can't be trusted. Honestly. Horrible influence. Both of them. And _I will tell that to their faces. _Their smug, kid hogging faces."

"Okay, okay, I'm convinced," Scott said, smiling a little wider. "Your application for first shot at babysitting is _received_, Jan."

"Oh good; it only took me this long to get my foot in the door. Even though I am _clearly _the best candidate."

"Hey, Natasha helped me set up security on the house."

Jan waved a hand. "Oh sure, that's _one thing _that she does well that can be applied around kids." She was at least smiling by that time, though.

"Oh, come on. You've seen her with Katie and Lexi," Scott laughed.

"_Biased!_" Jan said. "Totally biased!"

"I didn't even know you were so deeply _interested _until just now!" Scott said, still laughing.

"Well, you didn't really ask around, did you?" Jan said. "I have always loved these little troublemakers." She tipped her head. "Though … admittedly, I don't think I've really seen James outside of the lab and that little while that he was with Tony. And he totally hogged him the whole time."

"Yeah, we're pretty regular customers for Hank. He's starting to grow out of it as he gets older, thankfully, but he does still come down with every single bug that goes around the school," Scott said, shaking his head.

"Maybe it's a trial by fire for him," Jan said. "Get all the sick over with ... "

"Maybe," Scott said. "We had to get an X-ray last time we came after he landed wrong falling out of a tree, so we know he's got bone claws."

"So it's a possible thing," she said.

"I'd say at this point it's a _likely _thing," Scott said. "Considering his parents, anyhow."

"Just trying to be scientific. For like … five seconds."

"Well, you're not wrong. Nothing's guaranteed. For all I know, Nate will heal, and James will shoot optic blasts." Scott chuckled and gestured to his face and the three-pronged scars there. "Could surprise us."

"If that's the case, then I think you'd have some serious explaining to do," Jan teased.

"Oh yeah. The fact that he looks like his dad and Nate looks like me..."

"That just makes it _really _confusing," she giggled.

Scott rolled his eyes. "If you say so, Jan."

"I really don't," she said, smiling still. "But I think this is the most fun talk I've had with anyone in a _while_. All the guys are still half afraid to talk to me or, you know, treat me like I'm not a china doll that's going to shatter at any moment."

Scott shook his head. "You really need to get out more if _I'm _your measuring stick for fun. You can ask Rachel: I'm a boring dad."

"Hey. You bring the fun with you," Jan said.

"Oh, I see. You're using me to get to the real fun."

"Closest I'll ever probably get," she replied.

"I already said I'd let you babysit," he said, shaking his head. "We're going to be here pretty often for Rachel, and if James ends up needing more advanced schooling, we'll have to find a place close by and commute between them."

Jan tipped her head in concession and turned to watch the kids in the living room as Mia curled up with her head on Nate's shoulder as they started to settle down better. Which was about when Jan seemed to realize how long the kids had been separated from James. "How long is that evaluation supposed to take, anyhow?" Jan asked. "Seems like we might be getting close - if you go by how tired the kids are."

"I have no idea," Scott admitted, looking toward where Mia and Nate were curled up on the couch. "I don't know. Is that a good thing?"

"Want me to go spy on 'em?" Jan offered. "I can fly right through the keyhole."

Scott laughed, but before he could answer either way, the geniuses in question hit the hallway headed their way, and Scott got to his feet so he could grab James up into a swinging hug and check on him. "Hey, how'd it go? Did you make them all feel like neanderthals?"

"I don't think so," James said, shaking his head and looking a little confused now that he was out and away from them.

Scott raised an eyebrow and then readjusted the way he was holding James so he could point his gaze toward Tony. "See that look? That is the look of a man who has no poker face and is excited about his hand. That look tells me you did amazing."

"I don't know," James said slowly as Tony and Bruce came the rest of the way toward them. "They've been like that since before we _did _anything."

"Well, let's ask," Scott said, then made a show of looking toward Tony and Bruce. "Well?"

"He's got some _serious _potential," Bruce said, even cutting across Tony, which was impressive on its own.

"I could have told you that," Scott said, ruffling James' hair.

"He picks up equations after seeing the way they're solved," Tony said. "Nothing rocket-science level - _yet_ \- but yeah. He's gonna be bored with most things, I think."

"So, what do I need to do?" Scott asked. "Whatever program he needs, I'll do it."

"It's okay," James said quietly, curling in on himself. "You don't have to."

Scott let out a breath and turned to press his forehead to James'. "Hey, bud, it's not a problem. We found Rachel a school that works for her; now we need to find you one. And we'll find something for Nate where he can play every sport the world has ever known, too."

"Ah … about that. It might end up being more like a group of tutors," Tony said. "I can tell you from experience being a kid in a place meant for older teens and adults isn't … a great idea. And if he takes off like I think he will, a program might be restrictive." When Scott glanced up at him, Tony tried to clue Scott in at exactly how well James was doing. "I know I was bored in my programs most of the time."

"Right." Scott nodded and gave James a hug until he relaxed, then turned back to Tony. "I need them to be cleared by you, me, and Natasha before I'll let them meet him."

"Wouldn't dream of anything else," Tony said. "I'll start looking. Don't worry about costs; I'll get whoever you pick on contract and take care of it."

"Thanks," Scott said, adjusting the way he was holding James. "This really does mean a lot to me."

"Told you before you just had to tell me what you needed," Tony said. "I'm sticking to it." He reached out to rest a hand on James' back, which drew the little boy's attention. "You did great, kiddo. Really great."

James smiled quietly at that but kept close to Scott as Bruce started to chat with Scott and Jan - who was enthusiastic and cheerful enough that James started to relax more - a point that had Scott smiling at her. She was going to be an amazing influence if she was serious about her offer to spend time with the kids.


	12. Yellow And Black Influencer

**Chapter 12 - Yellow And Black Influencer**

* * *

Jan's first shot at babysitting Scott's kids came just a few days after the evaluation had been completed for James. Scott had asked Natasha to help him find a place where he could be close to Rachel _and _he could be available for the private tutors Tony was looking into. He wasn't necessarily looking for anything permanent, just something he could use while his kids figured out this new turning point in their lives. As a result of the quick rush of new information and the buzz going around the Avengers regarding _all _of Scott's kids, Natasha had suggested using one of the apartments in the building Clint owned in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Since Natasha and Clint had adopted Katie, the place was one of the safest buildings in the borough - in no small part because the tracksuit mafia that had tried to make Clint's life hell had gotten scared off by a combination of Storm's wrath in the early days after losing Kurt and then an unrelenting Black Widow making their lives a living hell _as her hobby _until they finally retreated.

So Clint's building was a safe place, with the promise of anonymity and the Avengers close enough that if there was a problem at the school or if there were problems as the two boys got older and grew into _their _powers, he'd have backup, too.

But Scott wanted to get everything set up himself, triple-check the security, and talk to the school that Nate would be attending - which also happened to be Katie's school, so the chances of it being problematic were _low_. Still, it just meant that Jan got to watch the kids while Scott let his paranoia guide him.

They were all hanging out at the park for the day, and when lunchtime came around, it was back to the tower, where Katie and Lexi Barton attached to the group. The next thing Jan knew, she had four kids building a fort to play pretend in. Once they'd worn themselves out, Jan somehow wound up in the fort with all four of them snuggled up with her while a movie played on the little laptop she'd brought in.

"That's impressive," Scott said as he came in and knelt down at the opening of the fort. "Usually, the boys keep to themselves the more tired they get."

"Really? They're so snuggly, though," Jan said. "No wonder you don't like to share."

"Hey, James has spent enough time being sick and _needing _the human contact…"

"And he was the one to start the snuggles, too," Jan said. "I am _not _complaining."

Scott shook his head with a quiet smile. "Well, now you're stuck in there, I hope you know."

"Again, not complaining," Jan laughed. "He's a great little teddy bear."

"He'd hate to hear that," Scott said, unable to hide his quiet laugh.

"I don't know," Jan said, tipping her head to the little guy. "He looks pretty comfy to me."

"Sure he's not sick?" Scott teased.

"He's been tired - no temperature though," Jan said. "And he wasn't complaining about anything - not that I think he would, but ... "

"No, you have to intuit it with him," Scott agreed.

"Then I would guess if he _is _coming down with something, it's probably not super bad."

Scott nodded to himself, though he was looking around the room until he saw that Lexi was curled up with a puppy at her side.

Jan tipped her head as she thought about it. "He _was _playing with Lucky a lot, too."

"Oh, yeah. There you go. He has a hard time with pets."

"That is so weird," Jan said with a little laugh.

"Yeah, especially since he has his dad's penchant with wild animals. He found a wolf pack that was ready to adopt him and was sniffly for days, but he still goes to them to say hi when they come around."

"Wait. He was playing with a _wolf pack_?"

"Freaked me out too, but you should see him. He knows how to communicate with them, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same pack out that way that was friendly with Logan."

Jan stared at him for a moment and then pulled James a little tighter. "Seriously."

"Hey, I don't … whatever it is, it used to drive me nuts. Logan would go missing or on one of his walkabouts, and sometimes, if we had to go looking for him, we'd find him with a pack." Scott shrugged. "K joked about it all the time. _She _thought it was hilarious."

"Things I didn't know," Jan said. "And … kind of interesting. I didn't know that was part of the powerset."

"I don't know that it _is_ part of his mutation," Scott said. "The more I've seen it, the more I think it's an instinct to treat everything the way he wants to be treated."

"Then … I guess that means more snuggles, all the time. Oh darn!"

"You're just happy for the excuse."

"That's what I said!"

Scott shook his head, sitting back as he watched her with the kids. "James will snuggle Natasha sometimes. I've learned Russian just to keep up with the two of them."

"Well, he plays with wolves too, so you know..."

"I don't think Natasha would appreciate that," Scott chuckled.

"No, but you did!" Jan said. "Admit it! There's a parallel there, somewhere!"

"Russian timberwolves?" Scott shot back with a dry smirk.

"Yes! That. Exactly that." Jan was nodding along seriously. "Red Room was code for '_grrrrrrrr'_."

Scott laughed. "Oh, is that why Lexi's so attached to the dog?"

"Probably," she said. "So … how do you usually get these sweetie pies to bed? Or is it just … camp out on the floor once they get here?"

"If you're _very _careful, you can get them to bed," Scott said. "But I don't know how well that will work while we're here at the tower."

"And … if I don't want to put them to bed? What if I'm just trapped?" She kissed the top of James' head. "Oh no!"

Scott chuckled and leaned back as he watched them. "I guess that makes me superfluous."

"Well, superfluous, why don't you toss me a blanket, then?"

Scott laughed as he did just that. "You're terrible."

"You kind of did it to yourself," she laughed. "And … I had to."

"If you say so," Scott said, lying back with his hands behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling. "I'm glad they've got someone here that they all trust. James does well with Tony, but Nate and Rachel ..."

"They're great kids, Scott," Jan said, settling in.

"They had good material to work with. I just stay out of their way and let them shine."

"Yeah, you help them shine," she said.

"I used to think that," Scott said. "The older they get, the more I'm convinced they're outpacing me. Which is good. They should."

"They're only outpacing you if you're giving them all they need," Jan said. "And more. You're doing a great job, in case no one's said so."

"It's not really about me, Jan," Scott said.

"I didn't say it was, but I am trying to give credit where it's due," she said. "They're amazing kids, but they get to be amazing because of the job you're doing as their dad. Own it."

Scott let out a breath of a laugh. "You're seeing a good day. You should have seen me last week when Nate tried to convince me he wanted a long-range rifle. He hated me for _days_ until I promised I'd teach him personally when he was old enough."

"He's just in a hurry to grow up," Jan said. "Like most kids."

"He thinks he's got to keep up with the other two."

"Of course he does; he's the baby," she said, smiling at him. "It's always like that with the baby. Look at Natasha's kids. They get _cutthroat _about it."

"I didn't realize Lexi was so _dangerous_," Scott said with a smirk. "And I know for a fact Jim's still too young to follow them around."

"_Yet_. Too young yet. He still tries to lean away from Clint to get to them."

"Poor guy."

"You can't tell me I'm wrong. What about your brother? Wasn't he a total pain trying to keep up?"

"Oh, definitely," Scott said. "He still is. Visits from Genosha sometimes to be the 'fun uncle'."

"How does that work out?" Jan asked as James picked his head up to see what was going on.

James glanced up at Scott with one eye half opened. "Hi, Dad," he said quietly before snuggling in better with Jan.

"Hey, James," he said with a quiet smile. "You want to keep using Jan as a pillow or do you want a better nap space?"

"If you want me to go, I will," James said, sitting up a little, since he thought that was what they were after.

"No, it's up to you," Scott said. "I'm fine staying here and talking with Jan while you hang out."

James looked up at Jan, and when she nodded, he mumbled out a quiet 'okay' and settled back in with her, which had Jan melting and making sure he was as comfortable as could be.

The two adults waited until James was asleep again before they dared to say anything, and then Scott let out a breath. "I'm trying not to let him think he doesn't have a choice in what happens to him. He was young when everything happened, and I know getting passed around … not having a choice in who was in charge of him for a while…it made an impact."

"I didn't realize he was passed around _that _much," Jan said softly. "I saw him when he was with Tony …"

Scott was quiet for a long time. "He started out with me. Then things got complicated when some anti-mutant groups were looking to retaliate for what the Phoenix did, and we needed to make it harder for us to be identified. So … it was Kitty and Bobby for a while, at least until it was clear they couldn't handle being his watch 24/7 and he panicked about them taking him to Genosha. So I stepped up until, again, the idiots in special forces were getting too close. Then it was Tony. Then me again. Then Natasha. Me. We've all done what we had to in order to protect him - and us. Rachel and Nate even spent time with Alex, too - and they all had their turns with Ororo. It's what we've needed to protect them. But I can't let James think that he's a spare part. And I know firsthand that is an uphill battle."

"You know that just makes me want to snuggle him more, right?"

"Yeah, I have that reaction too."

"And I'll bet Tony was hard to get him from. Harder than you thought he'd be anyhow."

"I wasn't expecting him or Natasha to be so attached," Scott admitted. "But I helped raise James, and as much as they're attached, they had their own problems crop up. He needs stability, and I'm doing my best to give it to him."

"You're doing great, Scott. Really."

"I hope so."

"Yeah, you're getting a hug too," Jan said.

"Gonna be hard to do when you're trapped under that pile," Scott pointed out.

"I'll get around to it," she said. "Priorities."

"Yeah, I have to agree; the boys come first," he said. "Katie and Lexi too." He let out a breath. "You really are good with them. I'm sorry about-" He let out a breath. "Yeah."

"Well, I guess we're all settled in now," Jan said, gently shifting the subject. "So … good night."

Scott chuckled. "They'll wake up in about an hour anyway. They never take long naps."

"They didn't have a full-sized Wasp teddy bear before," Jan pointed out. "You never know."

"If you say so," he said with a smirk. "In that case, I'll just fall asleep where I am. Take full advantage."

"Fine by me," Jan said, then yawned a little as she got comfy too.

It actually was a few hours later that Scott woke up - because Nate had climbed on his chest and started poking his cheek. "Um, Da-a-a-ad, we're all playing, and you're still sleeping."

Scott peeked one eye open to see that, in fact, the kids were all quietly playing together with a game of Trouble. Lexi was too young to really play, but they let her pop the dice for everyone's turn. But apparently, Nate was concerned that their dad might sleep _forever_.

Scott shook his head. "Sorry about that. I guess I was tired," he said, ruffling Nate's hair and pulling him into a hug. "You go ahead and play. I'll talk to Jan about dinner, and we can all head to our new apartment once we've eaten, okay?"

Nate nodded. "Okay," he said, then hugged Scott and rushed back to take his turn.

Scott checked the clock and was surprised to see just how much time had passed as he came to sit by Jan on the couch. "I guess I needed that."

"Yeah, well … I can stay with them when you need to recharge," Jan offered. "You need to breathe sometimes, too."

"I usually get more space to breathe during the school year," Scott admitted, then paused. "Okay, so that's not - I guess with the projects and everything-" He let the argument drop and cleared his throat. "I didn't notice I was tired."

"Oh, I know how that works," Jan said. "That, too, is pretty normal for what I know."

"You should've seen me on the X-Men, then. Hank knocked me out once or twice. I was told afterward it was for my own good," Scott said dryly. "Still don't believe him."

"I've seen the other side of it when it goes too far," Jan said. "Tony once fell asleep on his feet after a three-day-straight bender _tinkering _in his lab. It was ugly. He thought he was fine until he just … dropped."

"Logan did that once."

"Bet it took longer than three days," Jan said dryly.

"Three weeks," Scott admitted. "It was right after Rachel was born. Sinister took an interest; Logan took offense. It was a long month."

"How did that turn out?"

"Well, at the risk of jinxing something, Sinister hasn't come back yet, so I _think _it was worth it."

"Well, _good_," Jan said. "He probably came back thinking he had another day or two in him, didn't he?"

"Yeah. I was grateful for K. She … made it easier to get on the same page with him." Scott's gaze was fixed beyond them.

"She really could handle him," Jan agreed. "Made it look easy, too - which I know it was _not_."

"Yeah, I used to laugh when people would tell me to get better 'control' of my teammate. Like I had control of _anything_."

"Yeah, well - Steve and Tony. Need I say more?"

"Which one's supposed to be controlling the other?" Scott asked dryly.

"That's kind of the ongoing argument," Jan said.

"You'd think it would be simple," Scott said. "But I grew up on Captain America newsreels."

"So did he," Jan said. "But Tony _started _the Avengers. So it's a thing."

"And you named them," Scott pointed out.

"Well someone had to," she said with a grin. "They weren't ever going to come to an agreement on it."

"So, why don't you step in?" Scott asked, genuinely curious. "Show 'em how it's done."

"I have," she said. "But it's a _pain_ juggling those two. So … let them duke it out."

"Yeah, I know that feeling," Scott said.

"I'm sure you do," she said, smiling his way. "It's awful being in charge sometimes."

"Yeah, well, that's not a problem anymore," Scott said.

"Nope, sure isn't," she agreed. "This … this is much better. All around."

"Yeah. The world wasn't ready for the X-Men. But I think I can get the kids through life in one piece," Scott said in a sigh.

"I have full faith," Jan said.

"Rachel's got a fiery telepathic touch," Scott pointed out. "James keeps trying to die of … typhoid fever or whatever is going around. I think Nate's alright. He's on the soccer team."

"Well, that's the trouble. Put them _all _on the soccer team. It'll be fine."

Scott snorted. "James hates team sports."

"You're kidding," she laughed.

"Not even a little bit," Scott said, grinning her way. "He's good, but the other kids drive him nuts."

"Oh my God." She covered her mouth with one hand, _trying _to cover the giggles. "I thought for sure he'd go for like … hockey or football or something."

"He didn't do too badly with hockey. Actually, Nate's the football fanatic, but I told him he couldn't play until he was older. He's still so small and doesn't realize he's as skinny and short as he is."

"A recurring problem with your boys, then?" she teased.

"You know it," he laughed.

"They're going to be amazing," she said. "Well. Continue to be amazing."

"Yeah, I think they're already there," Scott agreed.

"I heard that Bruce is kind of excited to spend more time with your little genius," Jan said. "So that's kind of weird."

"Hey, I'm not complaining," Scott said. "He's a top scientific mind - and no one will bother James when he's with the Hulk."

"It's just … _funny_," Jan said with a little snicker.

"Hey, everyone said the same thing about me being James' godfather. At this point, it's practically part of his legacy," Scott said, smiling despite himself.

"It's a _great _match up," Jan said, grinning. "Genius move on his parents' part."

"I hope so," Scott said.

"I _know _so," she said, getting to her feet. "So. I'm buying dinner for you guys. Call it a housewarming present."

"You really don't have to."

"I know, but I _want _to," she said. "So … tell me what you want and I'll order in."

"Nate's kind of picky," Scott warned. "But he'll eat burgers from pretty much anywhere."

"Great - round up the orders and I'll make a call or two."

Scott shook his head, smiling to himself as he wrote down what he knew the boys would eat - and Katie informed him in no uncertain terms that she wanted to have whatever Nate had but she needed _lots of ketchup_.

Which was hilarious when the food arrived and Kate informed Nate that they _matched_ and kept eating his fries until Nate took the last half of her burger.

"Should I be concerned that they're escalating?" Scott muttered to Jan.

"Nope," Jan said before she stole one of his fries. "Not at all."

"Oh, I see where Katie learned it," he chuckled.

Jan laughed and shrugged. "I dunno. I think it's a _mystery._"

"Yeah, sure," Scott said, shaking his head at her before he plucked her chicken sandwich out of her hand. "Well, this is a good trade, right?"

Jan burst out laughing. "I guess so!"

Scott grinned, though he eventually gave her dinner back to her, still smiling and shaking his head. "Thanks, Jan. I think everyone needed this after Rachel's powers freaked us all out a little."

"It's been a long week or so for you guys," Jan said. "And I'm always up for movies and take out."

"I'll keep that in mind," Scott said.


	13. Secret's Out

**Chapter 13- Secret's Out**

* * *

Betsy and Rachel were just finishing up their lesson with the tall grandfather clock slowly marking time with its soft tick-tock in the drawing room at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, and Rachel was making good, solid progress. Enough so that they were working not only on how to stop her from hearing every thought around her, but how to gently reach out - since it was such a natural thing for telepaths to do _anyhow_, and it was an excellent way to know when it was time to get out of any given area should trouble arise.

The two telepaths were sitting peacefully with some classical music playing in the background as Ororo looked over some English papers across the hall in her office when, very suddenly, Rachel's head popped up and she let out a gasp - about half a second before Betsy reached over to her and physically covered her mouth, blocking her from Ororo's view. _Shhhhhhh_, Betsy projected. _I heard it too. Stop. _

_But he's gonna ask Mia-_

_I know. You have to play it cool. Consider this a lesson in keeping secrets. We _have _to keep everyone's secrets. _

_Like how Warren misses the X-Men so badly? _

_Yes, _Betsy said, though her smile dropped, knowing how much isolation was devastating the man she loved. _Like that. _

_That's the biggest secret with everyone, _Rachel told her. _You all miss it. You too. And you miss Bobby and Kitty and everyone on Genosha. _

_I do, _she agreed. _Because we were doing so much good. And it's hard to turn away from that when it's so desperately needed. _

_What about Dr. Blue? He's an Avenger now._

_He misses it too, but he was an Avenger then, _Betsy told her. _So was Logan. But the X-Men were different. It was more like a family than a team. _

Rachel nodded, though she kept her thoughts to herself as she watched Forge carrying Mia on his shoulders. She was sure that all of the adults had been happier when they were X-Men, her dad included. And it was hard to reconcile the way Betsy was teaching her to use her powers and not to give in to fear when everyone's thoughts were tainted with anxious nerves and spiraling in 'what if's.

But for the moment, she didn't bring it up - especially when there was so much excitement to be had watching Forge talk to Mia… and then watching Mia light up like a Christmas tree and throw her arms around Forge's neck.

...and then immediately take off running, shouting "Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!" with Forge behind her trying frantically to stop her before she could upstage him. Though he was laughing the whole time, so he wasn't too put out by her reaction, either.

But it did mean that everyone within the reach of Mia's voice knew what had happened when Mia caught up to Ororo, wrapped herself around her mother's leg - and then Forge cut in with, "I asked her if it would be okay if I proposed, and I guess she's trying to beat me to it." He smiled at Mia and shook his head. "Dramatic little goddess."

Ororo looked surprised and then broke into a wide smile as she waved Forge over so she could kiss him while her legs were still trapped by a happy five-year-old. "I'm glad you know you would be marrying both of us," she teased before she looked down at Mia and rested her hand on top of her flyaway white hair. "It appears as though you have permission to ask, Maker."

Forge grinned and kept a light hold on her hand as he sunk to one knee and produced a box from his pocket as he asked her properly - and Ororo mildly inclined her head with a soft 'yes' that was befitting her royal title from the African plains.

_Betsy, we gotta tell Dad, _Rachel projected as the soon-to-be family settled into a solid hug.

_Do you want to call him, or do you want to join me and reach out for him? _Betsy asked.

Rachel faltered. _Will it scare him if I'm in his head? _

_I can reach out first to test the waters, if you like_.

_Yeah, I think he's still worried. _

Betsy smiled at her for that. _You're not nearly as fiery as you think. But I'll go first. _She squeezed Rachel's hand before she focused on Scott and gently reached out to call for him. _Do you have a moment, Scott? _she projected, since once she knew what someone's mental signature was - it wasn't easy for her to forget.

Scott startled, and Betsy could hear the worry in his mind. _Is something wrong? _He asked, sounding almost like he had been expecting - and dreading - news.

_Not at all, _she replied. _I was going to have Rachel reach out, but she was afraid to try it unless you were prepared for it. _

_No, that's - yeah, I'm fine. _

_Take a moment to compose yourself and I'll guide her, _Betsy said. _She's doing wonderfully. _

_Of course she is. She's her mother's daughter. _

_And very much like her father, as well,_ Betsy corrected, though when it was clear that Scott was settling out with the unavoidable _pride _of how well Rachel was learning already, she gave him one last, gentle warning before she guided Rachel so she could reach out to her father.

_Hi, Dad._

Scott's grin was obvious even this far away. _Hey, Rachel. You're already running circles around everyone there, huh?_

_I'm working hard, _Rachel promised.

_I know you are, _Scott said.

_I wanted to tell you something really cool, though, _Rachel said.

_You're too young to date._

_Dad!_

_You're only eleven…_

_Oh my gosh, Dad. _Rachel shook her head, but she couldn't stop her smile. He was obviously doing a lot better than he was before if he was making jokes, and she was glad to hear it. She had been worried, because moves always turned him into a pile of nerves, especially when those moves included him being forced to ask others to watch the kids so he could plant misleading trails elsewhere. _I wanted to tell you that Ororo and Forge are engaged!_

_Good for them, _Scott said, sounding honestly pleased. _I knew they were getting more serious._

_It's so cute, _Rachel said. _You should come congratulate them._

_I'll bring them something when I come get you for the weekend._

_Okay, but you're missing out on the hugs._

_You really just want me there, don't you? _

_Yes, please!_

_Okay, let me tell the boys I have places to be, _Scott said, and Rachel grinned before she turned back to Betsy and hugged her.

"He's gonna come over," Rachel said.

"Oh good," Betsy said as she wrapped her up in a tight hug. "I'll bet it felt good to tell him how you feel, didn't it?"

Rachel nodded. "It's so much easier to talk to him like that."

"It really is," Betsy agreed. "He's always been easier to talk to like that."

"Which is weird because he was so scared about it when I did it for the first time," Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

"It will get easier," Betsy said.

Rachel nodded and then glanced toward where Ororo and Forge were wrapped up with Mia. She grinned and then rushed over. "I told my dad!" she told Ororo happily. "He's going to come and celebrate with you!"

"You did?" Ororo asked, smiling at her. "That's wonderful, Rachel. You're learning so quickly!"

"Betsy says I've got a lot of power. I just have to use it right," Rachel explained before she gave Ororo a hug. "Thanks for letting me learn here."

"We're tickled to have you, Rachel," Ororo promised. "For as long as you'd like."

"I want to see you get married," Rachel said, her eyes wide.

"Of course you're all invited to the wedding," Ororo said.

"Oh good, because I want my friends to see me get a dad," Mia said, snuggling into Forge's non-metallic shoulder.

Rachel smiled at that, though she hadn't _meant _to project to Betsy that, _Maybe my dad will find a mom for my brothers. _

Betsy was well-practiced in keeping her reactions to herself, but that was more than enough to tug at her heartstrings. She knew that Scott hadn't allowed himself to move on from the tragedy that had destroyed the X-Men, but with Rachel's infectious hope, she found herself wishing for Scott to find someone for them too.

Thankfully for her, Mia was already running around as soon as Forge set her down so she could tell _everyone _about her mom and her Forge getting married, so the mood didn't stay down too long.

* * *

Jan was tickled that she'd already gotten another shot at babysitting, even if it was just for a few hours. She got to watch Bruce Banner and James making _friends_, she got to watch Nate get totally into a football game on TV to the point that he didn't realize he was standing on the couch, and when Scott got back from Westchester, she saw him _grinning - _and that was a rare enough sight it had her grinning too.

"The boys didn't give you any trouble?" Scott asked as he locked the door behind him, a habit at this point even if the apartment was _way _well-protected, in Jan's opinion.

"Of course not," Jan said. "We even ordered buffalo wings and pizza for the football game. Total necessity."

"You're spoiling them," Scott said with a smirk.

"What? No way," she said with a wave. "Besides, it was _Nate's _idea to try something new."

"Wait, you got _Nate _trying something new?"

"Nope," she said, shaking her head. "It was _his _idea. I just went along with it."

Scott grinned a little wider. "Well, look at that."

"He loved it, too," Jan said, bouncing in place. "Different-flavored wings. Devoured them."

"Well, he might be hitting a growth spurt, then. Did the same thing a couple years ago and shot up several inches at once." Scott grinned. "He's going to be tall."

"I wouldn't bet against that for _anything_," she said. "I'm just surprised how James keeps growing."

"Me too. I can barely keep up with these kids. Rachel grew out of all her clothes, and then _James _hit a growth spurt, and now Nate…"

"You _know_, Scott," Jan said as casually as she could, failing spectacularly at doing so while she stared at her nails. "I do have an _in _for that kind of thing. It's kind of low-key a _huge _hobby of mine."

"What, tracking growth spurts?" Scott teased.

"Yes. Yes that exactly," she said with a nod, her head held high. "Especially since it means _new clothes._"

"We probably should change clothes anyway. We've been going with jeans and plain shirts - small town wear…"

"That's pretty classic, though," Jan said. "Even here in the city. I can update you guys a little bit, but I wouldn't want to alter your style too much."

"Yeah, nothing too flashy," Scott agreed. "And James doesn't like anything with a high collar. He says it feels like it's choking him."

"Pretty common complaint," Jan said as she made her way over to the kitchen table - and pulled out a notebook to start sketching. "Favorite colors?"

"The boys like blue," Scott said. "Rachel prefers green."

"And you?"

"Oh, I'll wear anything," Scott said with a shrug.

"Well sure, and you'd do well in just about any color … maybe not orange, but …."

Scott shrugged. "Hey, for a few years, it was nice to have a range of color options. Everything was red for a long time, Jan. Since I was a kid. So I just wear whatever is comfortable."

"That _had _to be wild," Jan said, sketching away.

"It was," Scott agreed. "Jean was powerful enough at her height that she could turn it off a few times, but never long-term."

"That's kind of amazing," Jan said, glancing up at him for a second before she pulled over some colored pencils that the kids had nearby, already diving in to the colors - including the palettes she was making for each one of them.

Scott looked over her shoulder with one eyebrow raised. "I didn't realize 'plainclothes' was so involved."

"Well … you know how it is," she said. "Something you love doing … it's easy to get carried away. Besides … collarless overshirt? That's totally not something to find off the rack right now, but it would be _so _comfortable."

"I'll defer to the expert, then," Scott smirked.

Jan smiled and handed him the first set of sketches and the color keys for each member of the family, already diving in to what was clearly for Rachel - if the hair on her little model was any indicator. Even if the style on the hair was more elaborate than what Rachel wore. Ever. "Little girls need at least _one _dress," she said.

"Rachel's not a big - she hates dresses," Scott said.

"Really?" Jan said, blinking up at him. "Well … maybe I'll just show it to her and ask first."

"She says they get in the way of keeping up with her brothers," Scott explained. "And she'd rather wear shorts and a tee shirt."

"Oh, well that might be a style thing, but maybe she could go for one that's _actually _shorts but looks like a dress. Stylish and easy to kick all the boys' butts."

"There you go," Scott said, nodding along.

Jan was smiling and humming to herself as she kept going - lots of pretty shades of blended greens with highlights here and there of gold or blue. Clearly, she was enjoying coming up with things for Rachel.

But the boys color schemes were wildly different - even with 'blue' as a basis for both. Nate's color swatches leaned to a darker blue with notes on the margins to add in bits of silver for accents, and she created a plaid for him that was mostly white - with shades of blue making up the checkers that would complement his eyes perfectly.

James' things were a different cut than what she had in mind for Nate - since the boys were built differently and she wanted to make sure they both had something that was clearly their own. But his blues were closer to a caribbean blue than Nate's dark ones, and Scott watched as she hesitated on her accent color for him before she went with an almost vibrant shade of violet, working those colors into a different pattern of plaid too - with white and black.

"Okay," Jan said, leaning back. "I think that's a good start."

"You're going to have a whole closet for them by the time I turn around, aren't you?"

"Maay-be," she sang out. "Throw in a few hoodies and they'll be set, I think."

Scott smirked as he leaned back and grabbed a slice of pizza for himself. "You really don't have to go all out," he said.

"If I went all out, I'd have tuxedoes and long dresses picked out," Jan said with a wave.

"They'd _hate _that," Scott chuckled.

"See? I restrained myself," she said, nodding to herself.

Scott laughed. "Well, I guess it's a good thing we moved out here. You'd be lost without them to spoil."

"I so would."

Scott smirked, but before he could say anything else, his phone went off with an alert, and he looked like he nearly came out of his skin as he grabbed his phone out of his pocket.

"What the heck is that?" Jan asked, startled by the sound.

"Perimeter alert," Scott said tersely.

Jan was on her feet in an instant, looking like she was ready to fight. "Where?"

"The cabin," he said. "We _just _moved out…" He was watching the video feed with wide eyes as it showed several black-clad soldiers bursting into the house with guns drawn.

"Oh. That's … I mean, that's good you're out, right?"

"How did they find us, though?" Scott asked, running a hand through his hair. "We've been lying low. We've been _careful_."

"I don't know how they ever found you to begin with - let alone at a place that no one knows exists." She leaned over his shoulder to watch the video with one hand drifting up to cover her mouth.

"Yeah." Scott shook his head before he snapped out of it enough to call up Natasha. "Did you get the alert?" he asked without saying hello. "By the look of the guys on surveillance, they're either MRD or government-issue."

"I'm pretty sure MRD doesn't have that caliber of weaponry right now," Natasha said in a clipped tone.

"Then this is government-run," Scott said. "I thought Jean burned out the department. What's this?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Natasha said. "Stay close. Go to the tower if you're concerned. And I'd say stick close to Bruce."

"He just left, but I'll call him back," Scott said.

"Good. I'll send Clint over," she said. "And I'll call Storm and let her know."

"Tell her to be on alert. I don't know how they found us, and if it was Rachel…"

"That's the plan," Natasha said. "Raise the alarm." Before the call was over, Clint was knocking on the door, since as it turned out, Natasha had been _home, _so sending Clint over had been a simple matter of saying out loud that she was doing it and glaring at her husband until he moved.

Clint waved, with Katie on his shoulders. "Hi. I'm here to play backup to the Hulk. Which is superfluous."

"Not if he's wrapped up in Scrabble with James," Jan sang out, even if her tone didn't quite match what she was going for. Especially with James and Nate watching the adults in a very solemn and silent manner, wondering if they were going to have to split up and hide again - even if Scott was doing his level best not to do that anymore when he could see the toll it took on them and could see that the kids were old enough to follow his security protocols anyway. "He got distracted."

Clint grinned. "You know what's more fun? Scrabble with the Hulk."

"I'm super curious if James can charm _him _too," Jan said, forcing the smile a little before she turned to Scott. "They were trying to do Scrabble with _only _the names of the elements."

"Of course they were," Scott said dryly before he turned to Clint. "What does Natasha know?"

"Right now? Someone's going to bleed." Clint shrugged as he set Katie down. "She's got Stark on the satellite to see where they came from and who sent them."

"The Avengers said they'd be watching for groups like this," Scott said, one eyebrow raised.

"And they have been," Clint said. "But if this is a government op, it's new and tiny."

"It's about to be extinct," Scott said.

"Pretty much," Jan agreed.

Scott paced a small path, running his hand through his hair, but once Bruce returned looking ready for a fight before he settled in with James, and Nate and Katie were trying to one-up each other on who could jump the highest, Scott had to sit down, feeling more useless than he had in a long while.

* * *

"Captain America's in the news," Natasha said with a dry smile as she sat down by Steve. "You're making headlines."

"Shouldn't _have _to," Steve replied, sounding irritated still, even after he'd chewed out a few Senators that he knew were behind the little group that had triggered Natasha's alarms. "This kind of thing is supposed to be _over_."

"We pushed it underground, Steve." Natasha sighed. "It's just what happens with evil like this."

"We still don't know for sure who they were after, though, and this isn't going to help Scott relax with those kids."

"I looked into it, actually," she said.

Steve turned her way, obviously waiting to hear what she'd found. "And?"

"School nurse," she said tightly. "She's the one who tipped off the MRD, and the government took over."

"Which one were they looking for, Tasha?"

"All three of them," Natasha said. "She tested for the X-gene when the kids had chickenpox."

Steve swore outright and started to pace, his hands on his hips while he had nothing useful to do with them. "She had _no right _to test them-"

"Steve, if you don't think she regrets her every life decision after I interrogated her, you don't know me that well," Natasha said darkly.

"What got her attention?"

"It was Rachel, actually," Natasha said. "She looks so much like her mother, and you know the X-Men who died had their faces all over the news after what happened."

"And the fact that James looks like Logan but is with them …"

"Right. She knew he was adopted, but the family resemblances were too much to ignore once she got on the right track." Natasha shook her head. "It's a good thing James is working with tutors and Rachel's in Westchester - or the kids would have been in the middle of it when those men came in."

"No kidding." Steve let out a relieved breath as he thought of what might come of those kids should someone unscrupulous get a hold of them. "James and Rachel won't be able to run from that. They're both already spitting images."

"Nate looks like Scott too, but his face wasn't blasted all over the national news, and the visor…" Natasha shook her head. "I'm going to keep an eye on Nate's school anyway."

"He'll be starting in a new school here, won't he?" Steve said. "Maybe they can register under a different last name."

"He'll be going to Katie's school. And the last time I talked to Scott, he suggested his mother's maiden name. No one knows what that is, publicly."

"Suggest it again," Steve said.

"I'm going to pull some strings on the school nurse, too," Natasha said.

"I'd like to get her license revoked," Steve said. "Breaking patient confidentiality? At least."

"By the time I'm done with her, she won't be able to get more than a part-time waitressing gig."

"Good," Steve said. "We need to update Scott. He's probably pulling his hair out by now."

"Might do him some good on his undercover work," Natasha said dryly.

"I'm sure that's what he wants to hear," Steve said just as dryly before he tossed Natasha the keys.

* * *

"I don't know if this is the right move," Scott told Natasha as he paced. The kids had gone to bed, though he wasn't sure if they were _sleeping _after all the tension and nerves that had sparked up earlier with the raid.

"You have to be somewhere, Scott, and considering how close they got, I think you're better off to be near us. Tactically speaking," Natasha said - her tone perfectly business-like as she watched him pace.

"You know I don't trust being so close to a team-"

"And it's a good thing that you'll still be far-removed from said team," Natasha pointed out. "They don't come here. Only Clint and I do. And Stark is sending his very latest in surveillance and defense to reinforce the building. You'll be safe here. I swear it."

Scott stopped and turned her way, the anxiety clear in the lines at the corners of his eyes. "If there's even a whisper of trouble-"

"I'll fly you to one of _her _places if the need arises."

Scott thought about it for a moment, then nodded to himself, running his hands through his hair when it was clear he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. "They need the _best _Stark has to offer. I'm talking about the caliber he uses for himself."

"Absolutely," Natasha agreed. "He already swore to do that much and more."

Scott nodded, his hands on his hips. "Okay. Okay. That … alright."


	14. Three Schools

**Chapter 14 - Three Schools**

* * *

Even though the Avengers had destroyed the fledgling secret government agency that had been hunting the Summers kids, it wasn't until a month into the new school year that Scott relaxed at all. Natasha had checked the nurse at Nate's new school three times over, but it wasn't until Nate had gotten sick and there was no resulting raid after the school nurse had treated him that Scott felt like he could breathe again.

So it was almost inevitable that the same weekend he was starting to relax, Rachel came home from school looking pale as she immediately grabbed onto Scott's arm with a panicked look on her face.

"Why can't I hear James?"

Scott could feel his heart skip a beat, and he took off running to find that James was passed out asleep on the bottom bunk of the boys' bunk beds.

He sat down next to James and watched him breathe as he held his own breath for a long moment. Finally, he looked over his shoulder to see that Rachel was wide-eyed and standing in the doorway. "He's okay," she breathed out, her shoulders dropping as she said it.

"Yeah," Scott said, one hand resting on James' shoulder absently. "Yeah, he's fine."

"But I can't even peek at his dreams," Rachel said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as Scott stood up to let James sleep.

Scott watched James for a long time and then nodded. "Jean had a hard time reading his parents," he said softly once he'd gently ushered her into the hall and closed the door behind him so they could speak more easily without interference. "He's eight… it's a little early, but considering how everything has gone for him, he might be at least _starting _to come into his powers. Some kids come into it slowly instead of all at once like you did."

"So he's not in trouble?"

"Not any more than usual," Scott said, shaking his head.

"You're still worried."

"I don't want anyone to find out about this who shouldn't know," Scott said, since she looked like she was on the verge of a panic.

"You don't want anyone to grab him."

"I really don't."

"And you're worried that the Avengers aren't going to see it."

"Rachel…"

_I'm a telepath, Dad, _she said. _You can't lie to me._

_You are just like your mother, _he said with a soft smile before he pulled her out of the doorway into a hug, letting James sleep in peace.

_All three of us know how to take people down, Dad. We've known how to take apart a gun since I was in first grade. We're going to be okay. We could even-_

_No._

_Dad, I wasn't-_

_No. _Scott put both hands on her shoulders and looked her squarely in the eyes. "Rachel, the second your _existence _hit the government's radar, they called in special forces. Anything more than that - any _confirmation _for them on what any of you can do with your powers - and they'll call in _more_."

"But you don't think the Avengers will catch it," Rachel argued.

"Natasha and Steve dismantled-"

"You can't just sit around and wait for us to get _caught_," Rachel said, drawing herself up to her full height with a flush to her cheeks. She looked so much like her mother in that moment that it set him back a step.

Scott held her gaze and then dropped it. "You're not going to get caught," he swore. "We're all doing everything possible to keep you safe. I just need you to trust me."

Rachel nodded, though she wasn't convinced in the least, and she reached out for Nate as soon as Scott went to get dinner started. _Nate, James is getting powers and Dad's freaking out, and no one is going to actually _do _anything about how stupid this is. _

_What do you want _me _to do about it_? Nate projected back. _Not like I can stop James from doing whatever he's doing. _

_No, but you can help me convince Natasha and Steve to train us. We'll tell them we want to be Avengers._

_I'll bet James can too; he's at the tower _a lot _more than we are, _Nate said. _And I'm pretty sure Stark is already hoping he'll be an Avenger. _

_Then it'll be easy to convince them to teach us to fight, _Rachel reasoned. _And then we can do something about this. Dad won't, and Ororo won't, and the Avengers are too busy to catch it all. _

_I think we can do this. Between us, anyhow. But how do we keep James in the loop now? Without getting caught, I mean. _

_Well, he has the tutors come here most of the time, but I know Mr. Stark is pushing to have him spend more time up in the labs with his tutors. He even told Dad it would be easier to keep track of everyone. But … even if that happens, you see James every day still. Until I can figure out how to talk to him like Mom talked to Logan, we'll just have to make it work and you'll need to keep him in the loop. _

_Alright, _Nate replied, though he didn't sound overly sure about it.

_Believe me, Nate. We're going to be amazing. _She paused and smirked. _And Katie would probably help too. She wants to be a hero when she grows up. _

_Katie will do more than just help, _Nate said. _She's going to take over on Clint's name. Or Natasha's. It's Clint's this week, though. _

_Mia wants to be an X-Man too, _Rachel said. _Once she's old enough to keep a secret, we'll pull her in. _

_James hasn't said anything one way or the other, though, _Nate pointed out. _Every time we talk about it, he just gets really quiet. _

_He knows Dad's freaked, and he remembers moving between everyone because of things like this when we were little._

_Pretty sure James is a little freaked, too. _

_Yeah, well, if you could see what Dad sees every time he thinks about Mom and James' parents… _Rachel shook her head. _It's pretty … it's really bad. _

_How bad? _Nate asked cautiously.

_Dad… he was blind for a lot of it, but I can see the cells where they were kept, and I can see Logan in a room right before…. _Her mental voice went shaky, and Rachel closed her eyes to block out the memory that was not hers.

_Wait. _

_Yeah. It scares me, too. But Nate, there's no one else to stand up for us. Do you really want to hide for the rest of our lives? Ororo and Betsy taught me how to hide my powers. What if you get Dad's powers? Are you going to be like Warren stuck inside because of your glasses?_

_No way. _

_So you'll help me? _

_Yeah. We'll _need _to get James with us though. I don't want to leave him out, and he should be with us. I don't really want to do it without him. _

_Then you talk to him. He listens to you more than me, _Rachel said. _He thinks I'm bossy. _

_You are. _

_Shut up, Nate. _

_There you go, bossy boots. _

Rachel rolled her eyes before she headed upstairs, though Scott had been sure to stay close by until James woke up, and then Scott grinned when he saw him coming out of his room.

"Hey, bud," he said.

"Hi," James said, sounding tired still as he rubbed his eyes. "Didn't mean to fall asleep."

"Don't worry about it," Scott said, coming to sit down at the table with him while dinner was in the oven. "You're tired a lot lately, aren't you?"

"Yeah," James said, nodding to himself. "Didn't think I was doing much, though."

Scott nodded and let out a breath, not sure how to approach this conversation. "James, I think you're starting to come into your powers."

It was almost like someone had flipped a switch for how quickly James woke up and froze. "What? Why would you say that?" he asked in a bare whisper that had Scott frowning.

"You're tired a lot more than usual, and to be honest, Rachel can't hear your thoughts. So you'll need to pay attention to when your senses start to kick in more."

"But that's not …" James was wide-eyed as he shook his head. "You never said anything about her not being able to ... Maybe it's something else. Like … the opposite of Rachel."

"No, I don't think so. Jean couldn't get into either of your parents' minds," Scott explained. "Neither could the professor. Not without them opening their minds first."

James paled as he shook his head. "No."

Scott frowned deeper. "James-"

"_No." _

"You know you have claws, James. This is just the rest of it."

"I don't _want it_."

Scott let his shoulders drop, and he pulled James into a tight hug, though the little guy was tense as a drawn bowstring. "James, I swear, you're going to be fine."

"You don't know that. Not if I'm … _no._"

"Yes, I do," Scott said. "I'm going to make sure no one gets anywhere near you kids. You know that. The tutors are safe, this apartment is safe - you're _fine_."

James watched him for a long moment but didn't respond to him, mostly because he didn't believe it - and it _felt _like Scott wasn't very confident about it himself, either. So instead, he let Scott pull in tighter to tuck into a hug. And though Scott was trying to reassure him, James kept his mouth shut, even though all he could think was that sooner rather than later, he was _dead, _and all the trouble Scott had gone through to keep him safe was just a waste of time.

"I promise, James, there is nothing I won't do to keep you safe," Scott said as he pulled James closer.

"Can you make it stop?" James asked quietly.

"No, I can't," Scott admitted. "I can't - and I don't want to change anything about you, James."

"Why not?"

"Because I love you," Scott said. "Unconditionally. And you can't change anything about your genes, and I would never ask you to."

James didn't reply to that, though it was pretty clear that he was upset, because coming into _this _power set, his parent's power set, the one that had prompted so many people to try to _use _them, felt like a death sentence to him - and he was supposed to just … _accept it_.

After a long while, Scott took a deep breath and then kissed the top of James' head. "James, please trust me."

"I do," James said quietly.

"Then trust that I will keep you safe. And that I love you."

James couldn't come up with a response other than a very quiet "Love you too."

* * *

"Hope your streak of different chicken wings is still going strong," Jan called out as she came into the Summers' apartment with James. "I brought _seven _different kinds tonight!"

It had become a regular thing for Jan to bring James in after his day of tutoring once Tony put forward a solid argument in favor of the security of the tower - and keeping home and schooling separate - which left Scott free to get a little quiet one-on-one time with Nate after school.

"Jan!" Nate rushed over and threw his arms around her neck. "You're just in time. Dad and I just got done with homework, so we can _play_."

"Yes! Just what I was hoping for!"

Nate grinned. "I already kicked Dad's butt at Yahtzee."

"Ooooh, good, you're all warmed up to be competitive for me to beat _you_."

Nate grinned, dragging Jan along with him as Scott pulled his arm around James' shoulders. "How're your lessons going?" he asked.

"Fine," James said.

"Still tired?"

"Yeah, a little," James admitted. "Hank spent some time with me today, so that was … different."

"Different good?"

"Sure," James said, shrugging. "He brought a bunch of sweet stuff with him, too. Then he looked disappointed all afternoon."

"I thought you hated sweets," Scott teased lightly.

"I do. That's why he was trying to guilt-trip me."

"He loves Twinkies," Scott said. "Our team overdosed on sugar every time we got hurt."

James raised an eyebrow at that. "Sounds like him."

Scott ruffled his hair. "You can ask him for something else and he'll bring that for a snack."

James shook his head. "I don't really need anything when we're doing stuff."

"Yeah, well, Jan brought wings," Scott said.

James wrinkled his nose a little at that, though. "I'm not really hungry."

"You sure you're feeling alright?"

"I'm fine."

Scott watched him for a while and then gave him a hug. "Well, stick around for dinner, okay? Even if you're not hungry, I like having my boys around."

"Okay," James agreed before he returned Scott's hug and started for the table.

Scott watched James out of the corner of his gaze, sure that James was taking the revelation of his powers just as hard if not harder than Rachel had, as the four of them sat down for dinner - though the conversation was mostly dominated by Nate telling Jan about the fact that Katie was in the grade ahead of him and had lunch at the same time as him and they had gotten in trouble for launching food at a couple bullies using rubber bands.

"Yeah, I got the call from the principal. You know better than that, Nate," Scott said, shaking his head with a sigh.

"Yeah, but I _won_," Nate said without missing a beat. "And they were _asking _for it."

Scott rolled his eyes. "It's not more important to beat Katie than it is to _keep your head down_."

"_She_ can get in trouble!"

"She's not a mutant," Scott shot back.

The silence that followed Scott's statement was just long enough that both James and Jan stopped to watch how it was going to play out, though James quickly ended up going back to minding his own business and staring at his empty plate.

Nate glared at his dad before he got to his feet. "Whatever, _Dad_," he said and stormed out, leaving Scott frustrated and rubbing his forehead before he also got up and quietly excused himself as he left the kitchen, leaving Jan and James in a sort of awkward silence. It took a few minutes, but after a little while, James reached down to his book bag and silently pulled up a book - though Jan was pretty sure watching him that he wasn't reading so much as he was trying to show that he wasn't eavesdropping while Scott had a chat with Nate.

Jan could hear even with the door closed that the two Summerses were _not _in agreement on anything at all. Nate was furious with his father for making them hide; Scott was trying his best to keep them safe… Neither of them wanted to back down.

"Nate, would you just trust me?" Scott finally said, louder than before, obviously trying to keep his temper. "Do you _want _to get taken away, is that it? I'm doing my best to keep you _safe._"

But that was obviously one step too far, and a second later, Jan could hear Scott apologizing - and Jan felt like she couldn't even begin to figure out how to act like she hadn't heard the whole thing when Scott finally came out of the boys' room with his hand over his eyes.

Before Scott could look their way, James slid over next to Jan and took out some paper that had dozens of tic-tac-toe drawings on it - some of them finished, some empty, some of them halfway done. While Scott was composing himself, James slid Jan a pen and propped his chin up with one hand like he'd been waiting for her to make a move the whole time.

Jan blinked at him, then smirked and kissed his cheek. "You're the best," she whispered.

"Is that why you're losing?" James said, completing the little act.

"Um, lies. _I _am the x's. You can't claim _my _victories just because I kicked your butt."

"We're alternating," James said. "You can't claim all of those."

"Mmm, I think I can," Jan sniffed. "All mine."

"I'll let you think that," James said. "Just like I let Tony think it, too."

Jan shook her head at that as Scott sat back down at the table and cleared his throat. "Sorry about that," he said.

"I'm sure it's just the age," Jan said. "You wouldn't believe the _discussions _Katie has with Clint."

"About what, wanting to steal his name before she breaks ten years old?"

"That's an ongoing _issue_," Jan said seriously. "She says he's too old and needs to retire before he breaks a hip."

"Where did she learn _that _one?" Scott asked with an attempt at a smirk her way that wasn't quite convincing for as upset Scott had been moments before.

And Jan was more than willing to ignore it for his sake. "Believe it or not, I think it was from a back-and-forth between Steve and Tony."

"You know, I think I believe that," Scott said.

"Would you believe it was _from _Steve? Preemptive strike."

"Okay, _that _part I wouldn't believe." Scott shook his head, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth despite himself.

"Cap is _very _sassy," Jan said.

"And those kids are still in elementary school. What are we going to do when they're teenagers?" Scott said, tipping his head back to look at the ceiling.

"Retire before we break hips?" Jan said with a shrug and a smile.

"Speak for yourself; I'm already a single parent staying home with the kids."

"Well, you can't escape them," Jan laughed. "You're _doomed_."

"Hey, I got good kids to work with," Scott pointed out, reaching over to ruffle James' hair, though James only halfheartedly tried to duck Scott's hand.

"You sure do," Jan agreed. "All three of them are smart as a whip."

"Don't I know it."

Jan smiled and pushed back from the table. "I'm going to start up a movie, I think … James picked one out earlier."

James waited for Jan to leave the room before he leaned toward Scott and dropped his voice low. "Hey, Dad, Nate's only showing off because he's got a _crush_," James said softly.

"Seriously?" Scott raised both eyebrows.

"Mm-hmm," James agreed, nodding slowly.

Scott shook his head, though he pulled James over to kiss the top of his head. "You're a good kid, you know that?"

"I'm just telling you what he wouldn't," James said as he gave Scott a little hug. "Mostly because he doesn't want to admit it, either."

"Well, he's not as old as you are," Scott teased.

"He doesn't know that."

"Little brothers are like that. Mine broke his ankle trying to keep up with me playing hockey when I was your age."

James smirked at that. "I just thought you should know. He doesn't mean to be like that. He can't help it. And I know he isn't trying to cause trouble."

"He gets it from me," Scott said, smirking hard as he thought of it. "When I met Jean, I couldn't string two words together."

James smiled at that. "That might be better."

"Well, he's got enough of his mother in him to give him more confidence than I had."

"Oh _no_," James deadpanned.

Scott laughed and shoved James lightly in the shoulder. "Really, James. Thanks. You know I'm just trying to keep you boys safe, don't you?"

"I know," James said, nodding. "And I know you're right."

Scott laughed out of sheer surprise and then pulled James into a hug. "You're so smart."

"You're only saying that because I'm agreeing with you."

"That's what makes you smart."

"Well, I'm going to go make sure Nate's alright," James said. "And if it's okay, I think I just want to read for a while before bed."

"Alright. Love you, bud," Scott said.

"Love you too, Dad," James replied before he got up and took his books with him, leaving Scott with Jan and a movie.

Scott shook his head as he came to sit down. "Yeah, I did warn you that it's not always as smooth sailing as you've seen before, didn't I?"

"They're kids, right? That's bound to happen sometimes. I still remember the _bumps _when I was a teenager. It's fine." Jan shrugged. "Of course, I was as close to a perfect child as one could _be_."

"Oh, I'm sure," Scott snorted.

"It's true!" Jan insisted. "Especially when my _friends _were all in the papers with Tony. Made me look downright _innocent _by comparison."

"Seriously? You're using Tony Stark as your measuring stick for good behavior?" Scott laughed.

"I am using him as proof that I wasn't in the _wrong side _of the columns," she said. "It's accurate!"

"Hey, you and I grew up in _entirely _different circles, clearly. I don't even know how to react to that."

"Yeah, that's true," Jan said. "I mean, I was friends with him _waay _before the team happened." She stuck one finger in his face. "_Friends._"

"I think you're protesting too much," Scott shot back with a crooked grin.

Jan let out a gasp and shoved him in the shoulder. "Rude!"

"Hey, you're the one with the terrible taste, not me," Scott said, holding up both hands.

"I … well. That's just … shut up." She was giggling by the end of her staggered statement. "Poor availability, okay?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure the dating pool was small for a gorgeous rich girl."

Jan blushed but grinned at him "When you weed out the guys that were after my bank account? Yeah. Pretty tiny, believe it or not! Especially when there were girls like oh, I don't know - _Emma Frost - _screwing up the _nice _guys, too."

"Hey!" Scott shook his head. "That's not fair. Jean _told _me to - there was a - the first time she died-"

"You're agreeing with me; you just don't know it yet."

"Yeah, well, Emma is _not _the motherly type. That's not happening again."

Jan snorted. "Yeah, no kidding. If she was a mother, she'd be the kind to eat her young."

"You haven't met the Cuckoos, then."

"Clones don't count!"

"They're still technically kids, and they're at the school."

"Yeah, but no one had to be forced to sleep with her for them to spring into being. Doesn't count."

"This conversation is taking a weird turn," Scott said.

"Oh, you love it," Jan laughed as she squeezed his arm. "And I'm right!"

"Everyone has an ex like that," Scott defended.

"I'm not even picking on you, Scott. I'm totally laying it all on her. I promise. You were probably mind-controlled anyhow."

"You sound like Kitty. She was second-guessing every choice I made until Jean showed up again."

"Smart girl."

Scott shook his head. "And now all my bad decisions are my own."

"That's just like everyone else, Mr. Summers. And you're doing _fine_, I promise. Those kids adore you. Even when they're mad."

"Well, it helps that James let me in on what's going on with Nate," Scott admitted.

"Oh? What's that?"

"Turns out my son is just as clueless about how to act around women he likes as I am," Scott said.

"Huh," Jan said.

"It was worse when I was sixteen…."

"You were probably adorable," Jan said.

"Yeah, I lost all ability to speak in sentences."

"That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard," Jan said, grinning at him. "I couldn't really talk at all - and then when I did, it was all at once in a big rush."

"I bet it was endearing," Scott assured her.

"Maybe," Jan said, blushing and biting her lip a little.

Scott leaned back slightly. "Hey, at least we both grew out of our awkward teenage phase into… whatever you call it when one of us is divorced and the other is a single dad. Not sure if that's good or bad."

"It is what it is," Jan said. "Not really our fault on either call, right?" A somewhat companionable silence fell between them as the movie got going, and for a long while, neither of them said anything - but finally, Jan had taken about as much as she could handle.

"So... all things considered, what would you think about maybe going out some time?"

Scott was obviously surprised, and he blinked a few times before he could even answer. "I… sure? Are you sure, I mean?"

"You're probably one of the sweetest guys I know," Jan said. "And … I think we get along alright, or am I way off? Because if I'm off, it's okay, and I won't get mad, I _promise_, really. Just … say the word and I'll back off, because I really don't want to push. I just thought … it might be fun." She'd picked up speed the further she got into it, and when she finally stopped, she'd shrunken in on herself a little and was holding her breath.

Scott was staring at her before he grinned quietly. "You're right," he said. "You do blurt everything out at once."

"Oh my God." Jan buried her face in her hands.

"No, hey, no." Scott shook his head and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm still terrible at words too, apparently. You're - you're not off-base. I just meant ... I'm a mess, and are you sure you're - I guess if you're interested, what about dinner this weekend?"

"That sounds great," Jan said, letting her shoulders drop in relief before she broke out into a brilliant smile.

Scott still wasn't entirely sure how to respond, but he sat back all the same, watching the movie in relative silence. "You know this means the second-string babysitter gets to watch the kids, right? Natasha will try to be their favorite."

Jan rolled her eyes theatrically. "She can _try, _but she'll lose anyhow."

"What are you gonna do if Nate and Katie end up together and she gets the trump card of 'mother-in-law'?" he teased.

"Um … no, that … even if that _did _happen, I will eternally be the coolest. It's like a _law _or something." She nodded to herself. "Might even be snuck into the Constitution."

"I think I missed that in Rachel's social studies homework…"

"Oh, sure, teeny tiny print," Jan said, nodding, holding her fingers apart so there was just a sliver of light between them.

"Wasp-sized?"

"Yes. Yes that."

Scott laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."


	15. Paid With Silence

**A/N - Hey, JD! Nice to see a friendly face! Thank you for the review - we agree, Jan and Scott awkward flirting is a thing of beauty. 3 Thank you for the kind words! I hope you stick around for more. I am particularly wrapped up in this little off-shoot universe right now.**

* * *

**Chapter 15 - Paid With Silence**

* * *

James had positively thrown himself into his studies, which was a different look for him, all things considered. Yes, he'd been doing well with his tutors, but he hadn't _pushed _himself. Not like this. He wasn't really taking the breaks that his tutors had worked out for him - instead, he was powering through his lessons and then working on some yet-unnamed project. Or at least reading up on half a dozen studies at once, fully immersed in what he had found.

It was enough to draw more than a little attention from the geniuses keeping tabs on him. But it wasn't until one of his tutors realized _what _exactly he was digging into that Hank was brought in to talk the kid down. Especially seeing as he was digging _deeply _into genetics - and how to alter them, if it was even possible.

Hank let out a sigh as he sat across from James, who barely even looked up from what he was doing. "I know what you're trying to do, James," he said gently.

"I'm just reading," James said, still not looking up from the research paper he was waist-deep in.

"You're trying to find a way not to be a mutant," Hank said.

James stopped and finally looked up at him. "What's wrong with that?"

"There's nothing _wrong_ with you, James," Hank said, his tone heavier than James had expected, even with the topic at hand.

"I disagree," James said. "And so does the rest of the world."

"And what does your father say?" Hank asked gently.

James frowned as he considered how to answer him. Scott hadn't specifically said it was good _or _bad But ... "He says we have to hide it. So, I don't see what's wrong with just getting rid of it." He was looking at his hands by the time he had finished his little statement.

Hank sighed and reached forward to rest a hand on James' arm. "Have I ever told you how I came to be the magnificent Beast you see now?"

"No," James said quietly, though it was clear he had James' attention.

"I wasn't fuzzy - or blue," Hank said with a rueful smile. "But I was _proportioned _this way." He held his hands out, palms up. "I wanted desperately to be normal, and so I did what you're trying to do now. I searched for a way to hide what I was, to _change _what I was - to stop being a mutant. But instead, despite my best efforts, I only made myself even more obvious." He smiled tightly. "It was a spectacular failure."

James looked up at him after a long while and spoke with an almost desperate tone. "Then _help _me. _Please._"

Hank sighed, his expression more heartbroken than before. "No, James," he said softly. "I _am _helping you by keeping you from repeating my mistakes." When James didn't look convinced, Hank tried another path. "My dear boy, even if we were to succeed, what then? Shall we play God, we mortals with our test tubes and numbers? Shall we consign the entire mutant population to deny what they were born to be?"

"I just don't ... " James let it fall for a moment. "I don't want Dad to have to worry about someone taking me. And I don't want to _die_ like my parents did."

Hank sighed and then pulled James into a tight hug. "You're too young to take a burden like that on your shoulders, James."

"I don't _want _this," James said.

"I know," Hank said gently. "But we must do our best with what nature has given us. And you, my young friend? I believe you are destined to do great things with your mind-" He rapped James' head with one knuckle. "-_and _your heart." He rapped James' chest. "The rest is, as they say, window dressing."

"Rachel can't hear me anymore," James said softer.

"That's just part of your mutation, James," Hank said.

"I _hate it._"

"Do you think Rachel likes being able to hear every errant thought around her?" Hank asked. "Or that I revel in cooking in my fur coat during the summer? Everyone has something they struggle with. Even those of us who aren't blessed with the mutant gene."

"It's not a _blessing_," James said, with a touch of a growl lacing his tone.

"Yes, it is," Hank said firmly. "I know you don't see it now, but think of how you can _help _your father as you come into your abilities. When Nate gets in trouble, you'll be able to find him - and you know he will. Or when Rachel starts to date?" Hank tapped the side of his nose. "Your father could tell with a sniff whether men were interested in using up young women or if they were lying. You can protect her."

James gave him a dry look at that. "She can read their minds. She doesn't need me."

"She may be able to read minds, but she does need you, James," Hank said. "What about Mia? Katie? Lexi?" Hank kept his arms around James. "You have so much to give, my boy. Think of these gifts as a way to help your family."

James didn't look convinced at all, but he'd quit trying to argue with him entirely, and it was clear the tone from the little boy was one of solemn defeat.

"James, I want you to stay away from this kind of research," Hank said. "Not only because it could backfire so spectacularly on you but because there is _so much potential _for evil in it. The X-Men were plagued by a geneticist who did unlock the power to change his own underlying genetic structure, and he stole powers and people alike to bolster himself into something much stronger than he was on his own. I don't believe you would become like him, but if your research were co-opted or stolen, there could be _so _much damage."

"Fine," James breathed out finally, and the bitterness in his voice was crystal clear.

Hank let out a sigh and kept James in a tight hug, though he was absolutely downhearted long after James headed off with Jan to go back home. For a long while, he sat in the lab, shaking his head at the impressive collection James had stacked up around him. He was heading down the right paths already and Hank was sure that he'd make a solid attempt to alter his genetic sequence if he wasn't stopped - that much was obvious. So with that in mind, Hank wearily got to his feet and started to remove every scrap of James' genetic research.

"You okay?" Tony asked when Hank finally left the room after clearing out everything he could find that even remotely addressed the x-gene or genetic engineering.

"As well as can be expected," Hank said heavily. "It's always hard to see another young man in the same dire straits I found myself in years ago."

Tony paused and turned toward the door Hank had just left, frowning deeper to himself. "What's the story, doc? And where are we at with our little wonder-kid that's got _him _in dire straits?"

"He's trying to find a way to become _human_, Tony," Hank said. "He doesn't want to be a mutant."

"That's not really even _possible_," Tony said. "Why would he even _start _on something like that?"

"Is it so hard to believe, Tony?" Hank asked as the emotion began to creep into his voice. "Is it so hard to imagine why he might want to turn his back on his genetics when his father has taken such measures to keep them _hidden _simply for what they are? Who they were born to? Is it so difficult to see, when not too long ago, men in black uniforms came to their home armed to kill - all for the simple crime of a genetic test showing that they were more evolved than their classmates? When our little genius had to change homes and guardians _so often_ when he first found himself without Logan and K? What child do you know wouldn't want to wish that problem away?"

Tony nodded, more upset than he'd thought he would be on hearing anything like this. "How'd you figure it out? And are you taking it to Scott?" Tony asked thickly before he tipped his head. "I should say: when are you taking it to Scott?"

"I don't think I should tell Scott just yet," Hank admitted. "I'd wager he's already aware of how all three of the children feel. Rachel was terrified of her abilities; James is trying to wash his hands of his genes _to keep Scott from worrying_; and according to Natasha, Nate is rebelling against his father by trying to be a normal, misbehaving child. How do you suggest I then approach one of my oldest and dearest friends to tell him that his son is willing to risk his own life in a terrifying scientific endeavor like this?"

"Not much to open conversation with," Tony agreed. "What I don't get is how you figured it out so quick. It's not like he was asking anyone for help."

Hank took his glasses off and let out a weary sigh. "Tony, I knew what James was up to because I tried the same experiments myself. Not all of us who are genetically gifted have handled it as well as we could have."

Tony took a few steps to rest his hand on Hank's shoulder. "You know I just want what's best for everyone involved, right? I'm not questioning you on any of it. I trust you to watch out for him. And the last thing I want to see happen is that kid falling apart. Or Scott. Or the others, either."

"I know," Hank said, resting his hand on Tony's outstretched arm. "There are limited options for us these days, that's all."

"It'll have to ease up," Tony said. "That's the only option."

"That's the hope," Hank agreed. "Things _have _improved, Tony. Don't misunderstand me. The weapons programs, the Friends of Humanity, all those who openly called for genocide - they're gone. But we've bought our lives with silence, and it's not easy to accept the price we've had to pay. Especially that family. Give the boy time."

* * *

James was quiet on the way home and didn't say more than a handful of words to Jan as she brightly tried to question him on how his day was, and as soon as they got back, he quietly made a beeline for his bed and climbed in, pulling the blanket up to his nose as he curled up on his side, his back to the door in a crystal clear gesture that he wanted to be left alone.

Not that it was going to stop Scott, who came into the room and sat at the end of his bed, quietly watching him as he rubbed the back of his neck trying to think of what to say. "Hard day?" he asked at last.

"I'm just really tired," James said. It was a lie, of course, but he didn't want to trouble Scott with how low he was feeling. James couldn't help but feel worse anytime he saw Scott worrying over him. Like he was being more of a burden than he had a right to on an already stressed out family situation. It wasn't fair to Nate and Rachel, and it wasn't fair to Scott. They'd already done more for him than they'd ever had to. So instead of the truth … James tried to keep his worries to himself. Which _was _tiring.

"That's only part of it," Scott said. He sighed. "You know you can't hide things from me."

"I know," James said, pausing for a long moment before he tried a little bit of truth. "My nose has been bothering me, too."

"Yeah, I'll bet the super senses are something else," Scott said.

"Not so super," James said flatly.

"I know," Scott said, scooting closer to rub James' back. "It's always hard to start. I used to get splitting headaches."

And then a little more truth: "I hate it."

"I know," Scott said. "I hated mine too. For a long time. But then I learned to use it." He paused and then rested his hand at his temples. "Now, I miss it."

"There isn't a good use for what I've got," James said. "Just … stupid."

Scott frowned at him and then went back to rubbing James' back. "You won't get sick anymore," he pointed out, trying to find a bright side for him. "Not once your abilities are fully realized. No more doctor's visits."

"I'd rather be sick."

Scott sighed. "Well… think of it like insurance. If anything _does _happen, you can help me keep the others safe."

"How?" James asked, though the bitter edge was still in his voice.

Scott paused. "Your father and I-"

"I don't _want _to be like him." The tone James had used was harsh enough to stop Scott in his tracks.

"Why not?" Scott asked with a frown.

"I just _don't._"

"James, he was one of the best people I knew."

"_Sure_," James said low.

"I thought I told you enough about him that you'd know that," Scott said in a bare whisper. "I tried - I tried to tell you stories about both of them. They were _heroes_, James. The best in the business."

"Yeah?" James said before he twisted to look him in the eyes. "Then why aren't they _here_?"

Scott let his shoulders drop and closed his eyes. "I wish to God they were. Your mom would make everyone laugh, and your dad would tell you what to expect from your abilities. And he'd find a way to tease every one of us while he did it, too." He smiled tightly. "But you have her sense of humor and her heart. I love that about you."

"I just wanna go to sleep," James said in a breath, clearly on the brink of tears as he turned away from Scott again and curled up tighter. He'd gotten too close to what was bothering him and already Scott was upset by it. Which only had James feeling worse.

"I know," Scott said, still rubbing circles in his back. "You know I love you, James. And I'll be with you every step. I promise." When James didn't respond, Scott sighed and simply sat with him, not about to let James feel like he was alone. Though once James really did fall asleep, Scott slipped out of his room and into his own before he put his head in his hands and let his shoulders shake.

* * *

A few hours away and a few days later, Rachel was having a _great _time in Westchester. In particular, she loved being around Betsy and Warren - especially since Warren seemed to need a little cheering up from being grounded and cooped up.

It was Monday, which meant that she'd spent the weekend with her family. And it had been a little bit of a mixed bag. Nate was worried about James, who was hiding more than usual and speaking even less than usual. And James really _did _look miserable. But on the other hand, Jan had spent the _whole weekend _with them, and she'd even gone to dinner with _just _their dad.

"How was your weekend?" Betsy asked with a smile once Rachel was back at the school.

Rachel smiled. "Kinda weird," she admitted.

"How so?" Betsy asked, frowning at the answer. "I thought it was supposed to be a fun one."

"Well, yeah, I mean, Jan was there, and did you know she and my dad are _dating_?"

"They are?" Betsy said, smiling in spite of herself. "That's _very _good news."

"I think so too," Rachel said with a bright smile. "Dad seems happier with her around. And I like playing with her. And she helps with my brothers." She paused. "But my brothers are a whole handful."

"I'm pretty sure they've always been a whole handful," Betsy said, shaking her head. "What was it this week?"

"James hates his powers," Rachel said. "And Dad doesn't know how to help him, because they aren't powers like I have or he had. It's sounds and smells and his senses are bothering him."

"They just _are_ what they are," Betsy said, thinking of the connection she had once shared with Logan and trying to explain the powerset to Rachel in terms she would understand. "They're on all the time, and he can't turn them off. Ever."

"Well, it's making him _and _Dad sad - and Nate hates that he has to behave when he just wants to get in trouble with _Katie_."

"That sounds like Nate," Betsy said, nodding. "How upset is your dad?"

"Really upset," Rachel admitted. "He wants James to love his birth parents too."

"He doesn't?" Betsy asked, frowning deeply. "When did that happen?"

"They're gone," Rachel said quietly. She took a deep breath and let it out. "Sometimes, I get mad at my mom too. She could have taught me _so much_, and not just how to use my powers," she admitted, her gaze on the ground as she tried not to get emotional. "I miss her all the time, and so does Dad."

Betsy took a step forward and pulled Rachel into a tight hug. "It's perfectly normal to feel this way - and it's alright for James to feel that way too."

"But Dad loves Mom still - and James' parents - and it's not right and-" Rachel held her breath. "I don't know how to help."

"It's very sad, then, that you can't just reach out to James and see what he's thinking, don't you think?" Betsy said.

Rachel nodded. "If I could see James' thoughts, I could talk to him. And even if he thinks I'm bossy sometimes, I might be able to _help._"

Betsy nodded. "And how do you think James feels now that you can't peek like you had been doing?"

"He's sad. It's easy to see when he's just crying and sleeping all the time." She paused. "At least, I think that's what's going on when he's hiding in his room curled up in a ball under the covers."

"And no one else has the powers he does," Betsy said. "I'm sure he feels very alone right now. Even with everyone around him. Logan used to get that way sometimes, too."

"Nate and I try to make sure he's not alone," Rachel said. "That's all we can do."

"Being alone and _feeling _alone are two very different things," Betsy said. "Even when you and Nate aren't around him, James has people with him _most _of the time, but that doesn't make him _feel _any less alone."

Rachel was quiet for a long time as she considered it, and then, finally, she said, "I think that's Dad's problem too."

"I'm very sure that's true," Betsy said. "But … what if I told you that it was possible to reach out to James?" She smiled at Rachel as she watched her expression shift.

"Can you show me how?"

"Not without him," she said. "It was easy for me to reach out to Logan because we had a psychic rapport, but before that happened, and when I met K - the only time I could get _in _was when they would reach out to me. You need to see if he'll _let _you in."

"So… I can reach out like I reach out to Dad?"

"Only if he lets you in," Betsy said. "He'll have to learn to open up his mind to you."

"He'll have to come here. Dad doesn't want anyone from the school at the apartment," Rachel said.

"Then maybe the next time he comes, I can talk to him and see if he's willing to try."

"Thanks," Rachel said, pulling her arms around Betsy in a hug. She laid her head on Betsy's shoulder for a long time before she said, quietly, "I think Dad likes Jan. A lot."

"Good," Betsy said. "She's a wonderful person."

"She makes him laugh. And he really doesn't do that except with us," Rachel said.

"Then he _needs _to spend more time with her, doesn't he?"

"That's what I said, but he says he needs to look out for James, and that's fair, too," Rachel admitted.

"It is," Betsy said. "But maybe we can work something out to get the boys here and give your dad a day to have some _fun_."

"Well, what if we said Mia wants a playdate?"

"I'm sure she does. That wouldn't even be a lie."

"Then let's do that," Rachel agreed with a crooked grin. "Then I can talk to James whenever I want, and Dad can laugh some more."


	16. Highs And Lows

**A/N - JD - that last chapter was a favorite of ours. One of these days I'll have the time to head over and get caught up with little Rogers in your story, but with real life kicking both of our asses, that's not likely to happen just yet. Thank you for the kind words. James is one of my very favorite creations across all the universes I've used him in, and happily, he's _mostly _the same kid across the board. Obviously here, he'll have a few more obstacles to deal with than elsewhere, but I adore the kid. **

* * *

**Chapter 16 - Highs And Lows**

* * *

"I'm 90% sure my daughter was going to push us out the door," Scott said with a smirk as he and Jan headed to a quiet cafe in Manhattan for a dinner date while Betsy worked with James and Rachel in Westchester and Nate kept Mia entertained. "I think she approves."

"That's like half the battle, isn't it? Kids' okay?"

"That's the rumor, anyway," Scott said, smiling as he held the door open for her.

"Such a gentleman," Jan said with a grin. "Thank you, kind sir."

"Hey, I was raised right," Scott said before checking them in for their reservations.

"I can tell; it's _amazing_," Jan told him. "Don't stop any time soon, either."

"I don't think I can," Scott said. "My mother would have had my hide otherwise."

"I like her already," Jan said. "Smart lady."

"Oh yeah. She taught me and Alex everything we know."

"Oooh, how is the not-as-cute brother doing these days?"

"I don't see him much. He married Lorna and moved to Genosha full-time," Scott admitted quietly. "The princess needs to be in her tower - apparently even after she's been married."

"Oh, wow," Jan said, eyebrows raised.

"Alex comes by sometimes. He taught the kids to surf last summer."

"I'll bet that was a laugh and a half," Jan said.

"Nate was _so mad _that James was as good at it as he is, especially since Nate's usually the athletic one."

"Well, _individual _sport," Jan said reasonably. "Right? Get to run it solo."

Scott chuckled. "Exactly."

"How did Alex take that?" Jan laughed. "I'm sure he was in stitches."

"Oh, he hasn't let it go."

"I hope he never does," she said. "I hate to say it, but it is funny when your little Nate gets twisted up on something like that."

"James has been gaining muscle too, and Nate hates it."

"I noticed," Jan said. "His shirts aren't quite right anymore, and I don't quite understand it for as much as he's just … studying. I mean, sure … he has access to the gym and he uses it, but it's mostly running."

"You remember how his dad was," Scott said. "He could lose half his arm, and the next day, it was right back. Must be part of the mutation."

"Must be nice," Jan said in an almost sarcastic tone. "Not like the rest of us that have to work for it."

"Yeah, add it to the list of things that used to drive me nuts," Scott said.

"Past tense - not worrying much about that list," Jan sang out.

"Well, we'll see how the boys do. I'm hoping I've done a good job keeping them from ending up like me and Logan."

"You absolutely have," Jan promised, giving his arm a squeeze before the maitre'd led them to their table. "Those two watch out for each other all the time. It's precious."

"All three of them do," Scott said as he pulled her chair out for her. "Rachel pops in even from Westchester just to leave psychic 'I love you' notes."

"Awwwww, she's such a sweetheart," Jan said. "She's always trying to take care of James with Nate … and don't think I missed James helping Nate with his math."

"The only _real_ fight Nate ever got in at school was when someone was picking on James for skipping grades," Scott said with a fond smile.

"Surprised James didn't handle it himself," Jan said.

"He would have, but Nate was closer," Scott laughed. "James has always tried to keep from drawing any attention to himself."

Jan tutted. "I'll never understand why they'd pick on a kid for jumping a grade or two."

"There's always a reason," Scott said. "Before I had my glasses, I was a skinny, poor kid with no parents. With Rachel, she was too bossy for a girl. Nate's getting flack for playing with _girls _instead of the other boys. Always something."

"I'm pretty sure you just said 'jealousy' three different ways," Jan said.

"Oh yeah, everyone was jealous of me," Scott chuckled.

"Um, yes. You could have been a model, skinny."

Scott flushed red. "Not… really…"

"Yes, really!" she said. "Cute, tall guy, skinny too? They'd have loved you in Paris."

"Yeah, well, I was in Nebraska."

"Oh, _there's _your problem," she said heavily.

"If only I'd been born in France," he said dryly.

"New York would have gotten you there," she said quickly before she gestured to him generally. "Your bone structure? That hair? Done. Deal."

"I feel like you're just finding excuses for your own fashion dreams," Scott said, turning a red color on his cheeks that would have matched his glasses once upon a time.

"To say you're pretty? Kinda." Jan grinned and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. "I can do that. I'm well within my rights to point out the obvious."

Scott flushed a little deeper. "I'm… at a severe disadvantage when you're the first woman I've ever dated in full, living color all the time. Makes you stand out - and I never learned how to properly compliment anyone …"

"I'll take it," Jan said, nodding. "Sounded like a compliment to me."

"I _was _trying for that, anyway," Scott said. He tipped his head to the side as he watched her but didn't say anything until after they'd ordered drinks. "I do like it when you smile." He smiled and shrugged. "Sorry. I'm terrible at this."

"Thank you," she said, grinning at him. "You're awful cute when you smile too, but honestly, the little crooked smirk? _Super _attractive."

"Oh good. I don't think I can turn that one off," Scott said, complete with a smirk.

"Lucky me!"

Scott laughed and shook his head as he looked over the menu. "You're absolutely outclassing me in flirting, you know that? I'm not equipped for it."

"I _enjoy _it," Jan said. "It's fun once you get started, I promise."

"I only ever learned to do it telepathically."

"If it makes it easier on you, I can just make eyes at you - and you can guess what I'm thinking," Jan giggled.

Scott laughed outright as he looked over his menu. "You're thinking… 'how can someone with his bone structure be this bad at dating'?"

"Um, that's _easy_," Jan said. "You were always scooped right up before you could practice."

"I feel like I should argue that, but I don't know that I can," Scott laughed.

"You can't! I'm right," she said, positively enjoying herself.

"Okay, but now you have to try it," Scott said. "I'm on the spot!"

"I think we're doing just fine," Jan promised.

"Good," Scott said. "Because I do want you to enjoy yourself."

"Honestly, barring some calamity? I think I always have fun with you," she said. "So you can just … roll with it. We'll have fun no matter what."

"I think you're already past the limit and the wine hasn't even arrived," Scott teased.

Jan gasped. "I did not _pre-load_ before we met up!"

"Are you sure?" he teased.

"Very!"

"I think you might be lying to me. That's a terrible thing to do to someone on a date!"

"Which is why I haven't," Jan laughed, clearly having a ball.

Scott grinned as the waiter came around to get their order, and for the most part, the date continued along those lines - with plenty of teasing from both of them… and a short interruption from Rachel telepathically sending her love with the boys.

By the end of the night, Jan was hanging onto Scott's arm, and they were both laughing as they headed back for the tower, still teasing each other the whole way. It was easy for Scott to read Jan - she was so open and honest about her feelings. And as for Jan, she loved how _sweet _Scott was, holding her doors open and pulling her chair out.

Scott was still a little paranoid about getting too close to the Avengers in the open like this, so they decided to part ways within sight of the tower, and then he'd drive out to Westchester to get the kids.

Jan gave his arm a squeeze as they came to a stop, and Scott turned to face her with a smile. "Next time, try to come without the pre-date pick-me-up," he teased.

"I did _not_-" Jan hit him in the shoulder. "You're never going to let that go!"

Scott grinned a little wider before he leaned forward and stole a quick kiss. "Well, I did also say I'd like there to be a next time, didn't I?"

Jan blinked up at him, completely caught off her guard, before she grinned, stood on her toes, and kissed him right back. "Looking forward to it."

* * *

James had been working away at his schoolwork, finally back up to his normal pace after a few weeks of dragging following his talk with Hank. He still wasn't in a good mood over _any _of it, but he knew he didn't have a route to deal with it yet, either, so for the sake of not causing a giant fight, he let it go and tried to just … stick to his homework.

But that was pretty frustrating, and he spent most of his breaks hitting a punching bag to blow off some steam. It wasn't much, but he _did _feel a little better when he was hitting things at least. Especially when everything seemed to be fighting him lately. It had taken several visits with Betsy playing intermediary for Rachel and himself to even begin to make it so Rachel could reach out and the repeated failures had him feeling like there was something wrong with his _mind_, too.

Needless to say, he was having a hard time and was using the gym to deal with it. He was frustrated and angry, but it wasn't until he _stopped _hitting the bag that he really got mad. His jaw was locked, and he was glaring at the ground, his hands in fists. He wanted to _hit _something but it just … didn't feel like enough to hit it, even when he was hitting it with everything he had. He was clenching and unclenching his hands, almost like they were itching, when he shifted his wrists a _hair. _

An odd sound echoed the gym that James had never heard, but the sound wasn't anywhere near the front of his mind when all he could do was keep himself from screaming. He stared down at his hands to see that, yep, he'd somehow managed to pop his claws. All at once, James was dizzy and sick to his stomach. His hands were shaking and he couldn't catch a breath right. He hadn't realized that there'd be so much _blood_. His arms were screaming at him, and the burning sensation had everything feeling white hot from his elbows to the tips of his fingers. But in spite of the pain, he couldn't quite make a noise as he crumpled to the floor, staring in shock at the blood that didn't want to _stop _dripping off of his hands.

* * *

In Westchester, Rachel heard the moment James popped his claws. She didn't think he'd meant to do it, but he was projecting panic and pain, and since Betsy had helped them set up a connection, it all flooded her way.

The sensation was so overwhelming that she nearly passed out herself, and then she started to panic, reaching out telepathically for her dad. _James is hurt._

_What? _Scott wasn't even bothering to hide his panic. _Where?_

_I don't - I don't know. I - I'll ask Betsy to help me. _

_I'll take Nate to Natasha and Clint. As soon as you have something-_

_I'll tell you, _Rachel promised.

* * *

At the apartment, Scott was pacing, running both hands through his hair before he got Nate up from the couch. "We have to go," he said. "Now."

"Dad?"

"I'll explain later," Scott said. "I need you to stay with Natasha."

"Dad, what's going on?" Nate asked, and there was no mistaking the honest fear in his voice.

Scott stopped, held his breath, and then he took a moment to look Nate in the eyes. "You're going to be alright, Nate. I promise."

"You don't know what's going on, do you?"

"Nate, please, just stay with Natasha."

Nate nodded, though he was scared as they got to Clint and Natasha's apartment at the same time Scott's cell phone rang - with Steve on the other end.

"What do you know?" Scott asked in a breath.

"James used his claws," Steve said. "He can't retract them, and honestly, he's in shock. We've got him as settled as we can, but … he'd probably be better off at home. His healing isn't exactly _on _all the time."

Scott nearly lost his footing, and he leaned heavily against the door. "Claws," he repeated. "He … he used his ... Oh, God."

"Hank says it tore the muscles that control them loose but that they'll heal on their own, one way or another."

Scott was massaging his forehead as he leaned a little harder against the door. "Rachel heard him projecting pain when it happened. I thought… Damnit, I thought he was in trouble."

"We were with him almost as soon as it happened," Steve said. "Tony found him. I'm giving it to you as Hank tells me."

"Thank you," Scott breathed out. "I'll come get him. I'll tell Ororo … claws. I didn't even think what that would do to him the first time…"

"Neither did we," Steve said. "I knew it wasn't pleasant, but …I didn't realize it would be this bad."

"There's so much they never told us," Scott whispered.

"You know how Logan was. He didn't like to complain if it was only a problem for _him_. Specifically if it was something like this. He'd never say a word, just … tear himself apart and keep going."

"Yeah, I know," Scott said. "K wasn't much different about it, either."

"We'll be waiting for you. He's safe and fairly comfortable, though, so you don't need to rush."

"I'll be right there," Scott promised.

* * *

When James woke up again a few days later in his own bed, with his senses going totally haywire, the whole family was around him, and Scott looked so relieved to see James conscious that it only took a few seconds for him to pull James into a hug with James' head under his chin.

"Hi, Dad," James said tiredly.

"Hey, bud," Scott said, his voice still ragged even after a couple days of waiting for James to sleep off the shock as he healed. "How you feeling?"

"Like I could sleep for a few days."

"Yeah, you already did that," Nate pointed out.

"I did?" James asked with a frown as he sat up a little bit.

"You tore all the muscles in your arms when you popped your claws and lost a lot of blood," Scott explained. "I'm so sorry, James. I didn't think to tell you - I didn't realize it would be an issue. I should have realized that it would _hurt … _I should have warned you."

James frowned at that and looked down at his hands, running his fingers over the skin that had healed up while he was asleep, though the bloody, gruesome image of the claws sticking out of the backs of his hands hadn't left his mind's eye. "Yeah, it still hurts."

"You scared the cripes out of _everyone_," Rachel told him. "No one knew it would hurt like that." She sat down and inserted herself into the close space between James and Scott so she could hug her brother tightly. _I'm just glad you're okay. No one likes to see you hurt. _

_I wasn't even trying to do anything, _James told her, sounding both tired and upset in his mental voice.

_I know. You sort of… instinctively called for help, kinda. _Rachel gave him a little smile. _I'm glad you did, though. I want to be able to help you when you need it. You're my little brother, and I want to take care of you._

_I really didn't mean to bother anyone_, James told her.

_It's okay. That's what family's for. You'd come get me if I called for help, _Rachel pointed out.

_I wasn't calling for anything, _James said.

_Yeah, you were just hurt. But I'm glad you called me when you were hurt. If it had been something bad, I'd want to know, right? The system totally works!_

_Still feel bad that everyone got all bent out of shape over nothing. _

_Yeah, I know, but it's not _nothing_, James. It took me a while to stop feeling like crap for scaring Dad with my powers, too. I guess it's a family tradition, _Rachel teased lightly.

_Hopefully that's the last of it, _James said, sounding irritated all over again.

_Yeah, it should be, _Rachel said. _Unless Nate shoots lasers through the ceiling. That seems like a Dad heart attack again. _

_At least he could feel like he could give advice on that, _James replied.

_I'm really sorry you don't like your powers, James. Mine suck sometimes too. _She paused and took a moment to loop Nate into the conversation. She knew their dad was aware that they were telepathically talking anyway, so she might as well. _Nate and I have been talking about how stupid it is. The whole thing. We get these powers, and we can't even do anything but pretend they don't exist! _

_For good reason, _James said.

_Yeah, but what if we fought back? _Nate put in. _Everyone's hiding all the time, but that just means the bad guys are hiding too. What if we just… didn't play by the rules?_

_And do what? _James asked.

_Restart the X-Men, _Rachel said.

James let out a sigh at that. _I don't know. What would we even do other than be giant targets? _

_Maybe we could take down the lynch mobs and stuff like that. The stuff our parents used to do, _Nate pointed out.

_Let me think about it_, James said. _I'm not real anxious to do this again. Ever. _

_Well, Nate and I were going to ask if we could train with the Avengers. We'd tell them we wanted to be Avengers like Hank. And we'd wear masks so Dad doesn't freak over our identities. And not all the Avengers have powers. I'm sure they could work something out._

_Dad'll freak out anyhow, _James pointed out.

_Yeah, but he'd also freak if we got caught and couldn't fight back, _Rachel reasoned.

James mulled it over a little longer. _Tony was kind of asking if I might consider the Avenger thing when I'm older. _

_Then we have an in, _Nate said. _You don't have to use your claws if you don't want to. You could do like I'm doing and be a crack shot. Or just hit people. _

_Maybe, _James said. _But the claws kind of just … they did it on their own. I don't know how I did it._

_We'll figure it out, _Rachel promised. _But… even if you don't want to fight, will you back us up with Dad? Please? _

_Yeah_, James replied. _I told you about Hank. I'm still mad about what he told me, you know. Pretty crappy that we're supposed to be happy to _hide_. Doesn't make sense. _

_Yeah, you told me, _Rachel agreed. _And I'm kinda feeling the same way at the school. It's good to learn about our powers, but you can't get away from the nerves, and people like Mia and Warren don't get a choice. They can't go _anywhere. _Maybe if there were X-Men, we could, I don't know, do something about it. Challenge people to get over themselves. _

_Everyone keeps telling me about _Logan, James said.

_Yeah? _Nate raised his eyebrows. _What about? _

_All kinds of stuff, but.. I don't think he would have gone along with this at all. _

_I don't think my mom would either, _Rachel said. _Not from what people keep thinking about around me, even if they don't say anything at school where they're trying to keep quiet. _

_Dad's not even that happy about it, _Nate put in. _I overheard him telling Jan how he wishes things were different. _

_So why don't they do something_? James asked.

_They're scared, _Rachel said. _I can hear it every time we talk about it. They're scared of what happened to our parents. _

_Yeah, well. I've been reading about that, too, _James admitted. _And I don't just mean when we lost everyone. The stuff that happened to Logan and my mom - they have good reason to be nervous. If those people catch up … _He stopped, frowning to himself, not really meaning for Rachel to hear it when his thoughts continued without him projecting '... I'm dead,' though she heard it anyway.

_We have to stop them, _Rachel said. _The adults are too scared to do anything, so it's up to us. We just have to play smart, like Dad taught us. We'll start training with the Avengers. Maybe we can be junior Avengers or something. Let people get used to more than just Dr. Blue on the team, right? No one says we can't be Avengers. They just don't want X's on our chests._

_We're totally putting X's on our chests, _Nate said with a smirk.

_Yeah, but like they keep telling me, you can't get what you want. So... _James projected, trailing off.

_So they want us to give up? _

_If I have to live with these stupid powers and the stupid legacy that goes with it, I'm not going to keep doing this, _James insisted.

_Then we're agreed, _Rachel said. _Something has to change. Let's just keep it between us until we're ready to break out the X's instead of the Avengers logo. _

_We won't announce it when it happens, then, _James said. _When we get there, we just do it. _

_This is why I love you, _Rachel said, grinning as she hugged her brother, since she really wanted to anyhow. _We're going to be the best team ever. _


	17. The Cost of The Cape

**Chapter 17 - The Cost of The Cape**

* * *

While things had been calm-ish on the mutant terrorism side of things, the same could not be said for the Avengers where Hydra or AIM or their assorted villainous troublemakers were concerned.

Steve had, in fact, made it a point to move from simply stopping them to completely disabling every faction he came across - far more aggressive than he'd been before - but the end response was that their reactions to the Avengers was also increasingly more violent.

For the most part, it was easily dealt with by using armored uniforms - not quite to Tony's level of shell-like protection, but more than enough to keep them safe from almost anything.

And Jan was still _active _on the membership roster, which was good for the kids to see, but it was also a point of concern for Scott. It didn't happen often, but every now and again, Jan would be late coming over on a Saturday morning for breakfast with fresh injuries that had been patched up or with a scent clinging to her that had James making a face, even when the rest of the family clearly didn't notice.

But it also gave James the chance to spend more time between subjects reading up on his biological parents. He was to a point that he was ready to start asking some questions. Mostly things like _why _did they keep going after so much suffering? Why not just disappear somewhere like Scott and the kids had done? Or better yet, how did they get _started _on that path? It had him wondering more and more about what kind of people they were. Especially when he realized that not only had his father been an X-Man, but he'd been on several X-Men teams, two Avengers' teams, and one other team all at the same time - though that last one was even marked as 'classified' within the heroes' own bookkeeping systems. And that didn't even touch the part-time or short-lived team assignments … like the fact that he'd been in the Fantastic Four for a little while with Spider-Man, too. For the life of him, considering how he'd been raised, James simply had to know: what was driving him so hard?

Of course, all of his questions were dropped to the wayside when the mood of the table shifted as Jan's comm went off and she had to abandon their quiet weekend time to deal with business.

"Oooh, okay," Jan said as she got up and kissed the kids one at a time, then made a point to give Scott a lingering kiss that was still rated for all audiences. "Hate to do it, I do! But I have to take this one."

"Be safe," Scott said, not bothering to hide his concern - not that he'd ever learned a poker face after losing the visor.

"I always am," Jan replied with a broad smile as she bounced out of their apartment.

The table was quiet for a moment before Rachel nudged James' mind. _You know, you had, like a whole list of things to ask…._

_Sorry, I'll try to keep from projecting, _James replied.

_I don't mind, _Rachel promised. _Besides, I think Dad needs distracting. You know how he gets. _

_Do you really think _those _questions will distract him and not tick him off? _James gave her a pointed look.

_Probably, _Rachel said with a shrug and a cheerful tone. _Besides, if you're trying to wait for sometime when Dad's not stressed, you're gonna be waiting until the day you die. _

_There's that winning positivity we all love so much, _James shot back, though it was clear he still didn't want to broach the subject.

_I know. I'm amazing, _Rachel replied without missing a beat.

James let out a breath and looked up to see that Scott was watching the two of them. "She was talking about you," James said, if nothing else, because it was the truth - and maybe a little bit to get a rise out of Rachel.

"That's usually the case when a telepath can't keep a poker face," Scott told him, and Rachel let out a huff.

"So... always?" James said, nodding to himself, well aware that this track of chatter would put Scott more at ease.

Scott grinned crookedly. "Pretty much. Jean and I used to get busted all the time by the rest of the team for silent conversations. I'm glad to see you guys are carrying on the family tradition. It just means you're close and that you love each other and trust each other enough to share your thoughts."

"We were actually kind of talking about that," Rachel said when James didn't say anything else, not that it surprised her. She never noticed how _much _her little brother kept to himself until she was able to hear his thoughts and then she had been surprised by the amount of self doubt that colored his thoughts. "You know, the X-Men?"

Scott visibly straightened. "You were?"

"Well…"

"Not exactly," James said, cutting across her as he tried to keep Rachel from starting what was bound to be another lecture for getting too close to a sore subject. "Not the team."

Scott frowned between the two of them. "I'm sure you've both been hearing stories," he said slowly.

"Not really that, either," James said, trying to defuse a situation before it became tense. "No one's telling stories about the team. And we're _not _asking."

"So what…?" Scott shook his head. "I think you've lost me."

James sighed and looked down at his hands in his lap. "Tony's been letting me read about the team from the archives - not … it's not for the team itself. He said he wanted me to know where I came from."

Scott nodded gently. "I can see that."

"Well, you can only see half of it," James said. "There's next to _nothing _about my mom, anywhere and what I found on Logan … I don't really understand."

"Your mom always liked to stay out of the spotlight, so that part makes sense for her," Scott said.

"It's almost like she never _existed_," James said.

Scott sighed. "You have to understand, James: your parents escaped the department I told you about and came out the other side determined not to let it happen again."

"Yeah, I know. I read that. And I read the files on what the department did to them," James said, though he looked like he immediately regretted admitting as much.

"You did?" Scott blinked. "James…"

"I ... wanted to know."

"James, what those people did was beyond-"

"I know," James said as the frown got a little deeper. "What I don't understand is _why,_ after all that, my parents joined on with _any _team."

Scott watched James for a long time, obviously weighing out his answer. "It's…"

"I'm not even talking about the fact that it was your team and the Avengers. It was a lot more than that, and no one told me. He wasn't just on two teams. He was on almost _all _of them. Why?"

"You know," Scott said slowly, "I actually had the same questions for a long time."

"But what was driving him so hard?" James asked.

"Well, your mom let me in on the secret," Scott said, not even noticing that Rachel had taken Nate into the living room so the two of them could talk in private - even if Rachel and Nate were still totally eavesdropping on the other side of the door. "I don't even remember why, but your father and I were arguing about something, and our tempers got the better of us. We'd yelled at each other, I threw it in his face that he was on other teams…" He shook his head and rubbed a hand over his face. "Jean asked K to come talk to me, because she was worried we'd drive the team apart. And do you know - I'll never forget how she sat down in the garage with me and laid it out." He was talking in a slow and steady meter that James had come to recognize as one that meant he missed all of them and was trying not to show it. "Those two couldn't remember everything after the department messed with them, but one of the worst things the program did was to leave them aware of their actions. They knew what they were being forced to do. They knew they'd hurt and killed people. And they worked so hard to do _good _once they were out of that program, because they felt like they had to make up the difference for the harm they'd been forced to cause." Before James could say anything, Scott held up a hand. "I've told you before that I have never, _not once_, blamed your father for these scars," he said, pointing to his eyes. "The same thing applies here. None of us feel like they were responsible for what they were _forced _to do while the department had them. But they still felt it."

"What was the classified team he was on?"

Scott held his breath for a moment before he decided to answer him. "We called it X-Force," he said quietly. "It… we didn't want the X-Men to be faced with missions that would cross lines, but there were times…"

"So they were _dirty_." It absolutely wasn't a question the way James said it, and his opinion on the matter was clear by the tone of his voice and the fact that he'd cut across Scott - something he _never _did.

"James, no," Scott said, one hand on his arm. "You have to understand. There were some missions that _had _to happen, but we were trying to keep the world from thinking of us as killers and weapons. _I _asked them to do the missions I couldn't ask the team to do, because I knew they could keep the missions covert, and I _trusted _them to only cross the lines they had to cross. Nothing more than that. Maybe it wasn't my best decision, but we were trying to - God, we just wanted to keep our heads above water."

"That was why Cap asked him to join the Avengers to start with, too," James said. "Because of his _rep._"

"You'd have to ask Steve about that."

"I don't. It's in the files," James said. "I read it."

Scott sighed and ran a hand over his face. "James…"

"I'm just trying to get the whole picture because I don't _remember _them, okay? Everyone keeps telling me that I'm like _him _\- and I don't know what that _means. _But from everything I've _read_ … I don't … "

"I know," Scott said. "But the files… they only show what he was trained to do. What they _both _were trained to do."

"I know," James said. "I want to know more. But that's what I've got to work with."

"Your father was more than what he was trained to do," Scott said gently. "James, he was so good at being a hero, I … I felt like I could barely keep up."

"Is that why everyone quit?"

Scott felt like all the air had left him, but James was watching him so steadily that he couldn't leave it hanging between them. "No," he said, the sound almost strangled.

James leaned forward. "Then _why_? The risks were always there. The danger was always there. The _trouble _was always there. I read every file - every bit of it. It's all laid out. So why give up?"

Scott stared at James for a long time. "You remind me of him," he said softly. "He had a way of getting right to the heart of the matter."

"I honestly don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not."

"You should," Scott said.

"He was _not _a good guy," James said.

Scott shook his head. "James, all the stories I told you - those were all true, too. Just because they weren't in the files doesn't make them any less true. The people I told you about - _those _are your parents."

"So is the rest of it."

"James…" Scott shook his head. "You didn't get to see him in action. He could tear apart an army bare-handed and in the next breath keep a little girl from crying over her broken doll…."

"It's not a criticism," James said. "It's just a fact."

"I just don't want you to think they were anything _less _than what they were," Scott said in a breath.

"And what they were was defined by who you ask," James said before he gestured openly. "I just want to know all of it, since everyone wants to tell me I'm like _him_."

Scott nodded, his heart in his throat. "James, they were family," he said. "That… that's why we quit."

James narrowed his eyes for just an instant. "I know you're going to tell me I'm too young to hear it, but one day, I'm going to ask how it happened. And I want to know the _truth_. Not the kid version of it. Please."

"You _are _too young to hear it right now," Scott said.

"Which is why I'm not _asking _right now," James said. "I already _know _you won't tell me."

"James, you have to understand. The way we lost them…"

"Doesn't make sense. The way they died - in the files - doesn't make sense. And I know that it had to have been written down in a way to keep this talk from happening too soon. So I'm not pushing. _I'm not_. But I will want to know. I _do_, but I know it's not time yet."

Scott nodded almost numbly. "When you're older, I promise, I will tell you," he said. "All three of you. But it was terrible enough to drive the X-Men apart. We couldn't…. James, we could barely hold our lives together, let alone a team."

James nodded, clearly on the brink of tears anyhow just from the weight of the conversation. "I don't want to find out that they died for no reason. That's all."

Scott let out a small sound from the back of his throat before he reached out and yanked James into a hug. "James, all I want you to know right now is that they both loved you more than anything. There is _nothing _they wouldn't have done for you. And if they'd walked out of that place and I'd been the one to die, I guarantee you they would be doing for your brother and sister exactly what I'm trying to do for you."

"Okay," James said with a nod.

"When I tell you how much you remind me of them, that's what I see. Not what was in the files you read, alright? I never want you to think that's what I see when I look at you. I see your mother's sharp wit and your father's heart, and I _love you _for it, James."

"Love you too," James said quietly. "I'm not trying to be a pain, I promise. I just … "

"I know you're not. I did the same thing when I was a kid, trying to find out more about my parents. It's hard to feel like you're trying to know a ghost."

"Yeah, but that had a very different outcome," James said dryly.

"Yeah, well." Scott let out a sigh. "You've met him. He's…"

"In love with a skunk-cat."

"Yeah. I wasn't too thrilled when I found out … all of it."

"She's nice at least," James admitted.

"She is," Scott agreed. "But I promise, James, you're not going to find out that your dad is secretly some space pirate renegade-"

"No, I know," James said. "He's gone. Pretty clear. If he wasn't … they'd probably be using him in some weapon program."

"_No_, James. If he wasn't gone, he'd be right here, because there is no force in the universe that could keep him away from you, let alone your _mother_." Scott smirked. "She _growled _at me when you were little and I was hogging you. She had an intense mother bear reflex."

James smirked, but there really wasn't any joy to it. "Okay. I won't ambush you with anything like this again."

"James, you know you can ask me anything, anytime. And even if the answer is 'not yet', I'll tell you that too," Scott swore. He took James' face in his hands. "You kids mean the world to me. There is nothing you can do that will make me love you less. You know that, right?"

James shrugged at that and let his gaze drop to the floor. "Okay."

Scott smiled and tried to redirect into something a little lighter for James' sake, knownig perfectly well what he was feeling since he'd felt that way himself when he was a kid. "Um, no, the answer is 'of course I know you love me, Dad! Just like I know Rachel and Nate are dirty little eavesdroppers!'"

"You sound like Jan."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Scott said.

"You should," James said. "You've been smiling more. It's nice."

"I'll try to do that more," Scott promised. "I've got three great kids - I should be celebrating all the time when you're not getting chickenpox, right?" he teased lightly.

"Or getting in trouble," James said.

"Oh, no, you never get in trouble," Scott said.

"Su-ure," James said, frowning.

"Nate _never _ends up in the principal's office. Rachel _never _flirts with boys I don't approve of. You _never _hit me with zingers I can't come back from…"

"Seems like a whole different level of trouble for everyone," James said. "And I thought you'd hear about other stuff. Not just … my stupid questions."

"They're not stupid questions," Scott promised. "You want to know about your parents. Nothing stupid about that."

"Kinda stupid."

"No, stupid would be if you wanted me to explain why, say, Alpha Flight kept trying to win him back when _clearly _I was the superior team leader," Scott teased.

"Um …that's because they had a guy that went by 'Puck' on the roster. They needed something that sounded more intimidating."

Scott laughed outright. "See? Ask a dumb question, get an obvious answer!" He ruffled James hair. "Come on. Your brother and sister are probably getting in trouble without us level-headed types."

"They'll stub a toe trying to run from the door."

Scott grinned crookedly. "Race you."

As expected, both Rachel and Nate scattered when Scott and James hit the door, but they weren't quite quick enough to pretend they hadn't been eavesdropping - especially since Scott had been sure to _actively _block Rachel so she couldn't see his thoughts when James had brought up what had happened to break up the X-Men. So the kids still had questions, but from Scott's perspective, they were still well-insulated from it all.

"We… we were... um…" Rachel floundered for an excuse.

"Watching the Avengers on TV," Nate said helpfully, pointing at the news broadcast. "Because Jan is totally taking down Hydra. With some help."

"Best Avenger," James said. "Least nosy, anyhow."

"I dunno," Rachel said. "I kinda like-"

"If you say Thor, I'm gonna puke," James said.

"_No_." Rachel turned bright red.

"Lie." James pointed her way without looking at her as he and Scott started to watch the broadcast.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Nate said, rolling his eyes. "All the guy Avengers are blond or stupid."

James frowned. "I think … you might be looking at another team. The non-blond isn't as stupid as he makes himself out to be."

"He's been _pretty _stupid lately."

"He's been _nice_," James said.

"He's nice to _you_," Nate said. "He makes weird noises around Jan and Dad."

"Well yeah," James said, shrugging. "Totally jealous."

"This conversation is going off the rails," Scott said, shaking his head. "Rachel, I think we need a movie. Can you pick something out?"

"You don't wanna see Jan?" Rachel asked, one eyebrow raised.

"I do want to see her - in this living room, in person," Scott said with a smirk.

"Dad's in love," Nate said, making a face.

"And Tony's jealous," James added.

"Boys." Scott gave both of them a look - not that it was going to stop them.

"You told us not to hold back from telling the truth," James said.

"I did, didn't I?"

James gestured with both hands, and Rachel fell apart giggling. "Got you there, Dad."

Scott shook his head at all three of his kids, but before he could come up with anything to say, the news caught a flash and a sound that Scott recognized, and he froze as he saw the aftereffects of the localized EMP playing out on the screen.

The camera was far enough away from the EMP to still be playing footage, but Iron Man had taken a bad hit and dropped - though the armor had crash safety measures in place… What was more concerning was that the last Scott had seen of Jan on the screen, she had been level with Tony, and at wasp-size, that was too far a fall.

The news crew hadn't picked up on it yet, not when Tony's was the more obvious fall. But Scott hadn't seen the countermeasures he knew Jan had… There was supposed to be a chute… Maybe it had deployed off-camera…

"Get your coats," Scott said, already headed for the counter to grab his keys. "Right now."

Not one of the kids was going to argue when they heard the tone Scott was using, and they followed him out the door and to the tower. Scott had a passkey for the place - an open invitation from the Avengers if he ever decided to take them up on the many offers to move the family - so he let himself in and then started to pace, not even hearing Jarvis telling him that he could wait somewhere more comfortable. He didn't hear anything Jarvis said until "they're on their way," and then he simply nodded and sat down by the medical wing.

Less than five minutes passed before the first wave of Avengers made it back - with Tony and Jan being rushed in first - and medical personnel had been waiting to dive in the moment they showed up. But that only meant that Scott and the kids got the front row seat (or close to it) to hear everything that was going on beyond the doors.

Neither of the injured Avengers were doing well, but the doctors were a bit more panicked with Jan than Scott was ready to hear. And when it was clear Scott wasn't _moving_, it was Clint who got the kids' attention with a hand on the boys' shoulders.

"Hey, the docs are the best in the biz," he said. "She'll be okay."

"She better be," James said quietly.

"Yeah. Well. Looks like you're staying the night, so why don't you come upstairs, I know Katie will be happy to see you, and Lexi will probably tackle you…" Clint was already trying to steer them away. "I promise I'll let you know as soon as the docs tell us we're out of the woods, but we can't do anything right now, okay?"

"I'm staying with Dad," James said, setting back on his heels.

"Me too," Rachel said in a breath.

"It's gonna be a few hours in surgery, guys," Clint said.

"That's okay," James said. "We'll be fine."

Clint looked between the members of the Summers family and realized pretty fast it wasn't an argument he could win. All three of the kids were just as protective as Scott was; he knew that from experience.

For a few minutes, it looked like the kids were just going to sit with an unresponsive Scott, but ten minutes in, Scott said, very quietly, "You can go. It's alright."

"Okay," James said, crossing his arms as he settled into his chair better.

Scott let out a breath and then almost absently kissed the side of James' head and gave him a hug without taking his eyes off the door to the medical wing. And with that, Clint quietly backed away to leave them waiting - and to tell the others what was going on with the family keeping watch.

Clint didn't return to check on them himself, but he did send Natasha down to see the level of stubborn going on with the kids and to see if she could at least get them to break away for a few minutes - or to rest.

_We're staying with Dad, _Rachel projected to Natasha before she could even begin to say anything.

_It's going to be a long wait, _Natasha said. _Maybe you could-_

_No, we're staying with Dad, _Rachel said. _Because if something bad happens, he needs us. _

Natasha let out a sigh and then nodded. "If you get hungry…"

"We've been here before," Nate said. "We got it."

"I know," Natasha said gently. "But your dad looked like he needed the reminder."

"Our dad can hear you just fine," James said. "We're all fine. If anyone gets hungry, I know my way around. I'll take care of it."

Natasha smiled softly, unable to stop herself when James sounded so much like Logan. "I know you will."

The little group stayed right there, every now and again interrupted by one Avenger or another that was checking on them. Which was expected, of course. But every time, it was the same response - and the little family only seemed to regroup better as interruptions continued.

Finally, Hank came out of the double doors Scott had been watching so closely. "I thought for sure you'd find somewhere more comfortable to wait," he said.

"How is she, Hank?" Scott asked - which was the first sign of life the kids had seen from him the whole time.

"She's stable," Hank said. "She had a hard fall, and her chute slowed her descent enough to keep it from being much nastier."

Scott waved a hand. "I know that part. How is she?"

"She's asleep still, so she's not in pain, but she broke several bones, punctured a lung _and _her liver. She will heal, but she'll be stuck in bed for a while. If you'd like, I can take you to her - though I wouldn't expect much conversation for a while still."

"I just want to see her," Scott said in a breath.

"Of course," Hank said, stepping back to the double doors and pushing them open for him. He led the way, noting to himself how anxious the kids looked as they kept up all the way down to where Jan was - all cleaned up and hooked up to almost every piece of machinery available to monitor her as she slept on. She had bandages on her head and her arm, and one leg was in a cast, but the machines showed that she was breathing easily and steadily, and her heart was strong.

For just a moment, Scott paused in the doorway before he stepped inside and rested a hand on her arm, watching her for a long time before he simply sank into a chair beside her and leaned forward, resting his head on his arms crossed over his knees. They didn't hear much when his shoulders started to shake, but the kids all looked like they didn't know what to _do_.

The three of them didn't discuss it, and they didn't look like they'd thought about it at all before every one of them simply made their way over and did their best to wrap Scott up in a wordless hug, staying there until Scott gathered himself up enough to sit up and pull them in so he could hold onto them, too.

Hank backed out slowly, leaving the group of them to their own devices, and he was glad for it, too, since he couldn't possibly have been expected to speak with the lump in his throat, let alone to be eloquent about it. With a very heavy heart, Hank headed toward the upper levels of the mansion to let the rest of the Avengers know not only how Jan was but how Tony was faring too, though he was in a little better shape since, even dead, the armor had all kinds of shock absorbers and redundancies in place for just this kind of emergency.

But Hank wasn't expecting the assault when he turned the corner to head toward the living room and Katie came barreling toward him.

"Dr. Blue, where's Nate?" Katie demanded, climbing up his fur until he picked her up.

"He's with his father and his siblings," Hank said, snuggling into her for a moment. "You're getting a little big to be scaling me, I think." He tapped the end of her nose. "But don't ever stop."

"One day, I'll be tall enough to take you down with a tackle instead," Katie told him.

"I await that day," Hank said. "But until then, I'll just have to make do with losing handfuls of fur."

Katie grinned at him crookedly, though when he sounded a little hoarse with emotion, she cocked her head to the side. "It's alright. Jan and Tony're gonna be fine. That's what my mom and dad say."

"I know they will," Hank said. "I've been taking care of them myself. Of course they will."

"Well, how come you're sad?" Katie asked. "You've got a wet spot on your fur." She touched the fur just under his right eye. "So… you can't hide it."

"I'm simply unused to seeing my oldest and dearest friend so upset," Hank said. "Though it's also quite rare for Ms. Van Dyne to find herself so injured."

"Dad said it was pretty bad," Katie said with a slow nod.

"It was, for both of them," Hank said.

"My daddy gets pretty upset when Mom gets hurt, and I caught Mommy crying when Daddy got shot a couple weeks ago," Katie said. "Mom says it's part of being a 'Venger."

"It can be," Hank said.

"So it's okay to cry if you gotta. Dad says you can let it out, and then you can be okay when you're done and get right back up and give the other guy a black eye."

"I'm afraid there's no one to give a black eye to," Hank told her as he gave her a little squeeze.

"Oh, well, then that's just a job for hugs," Katie said, snuggling in tightly.

"It is," he agreed. "And when the Summers kids finally come upstairs, I hope you'll be sure to give them the hugs they need."

"Oh yeah," Katie promised. "I'll get all of 'em. Even Nate."

"Somehow, I heard that Nate would be at the top of your list," Hank teased.

Katie scrunched her nose up. "Um, he's a _boy_."

"And a cute one at that."

"Okay, you can think that, but _my _daddy says if grown-ups think kids are cute, you gotta kick 'em in the balls if they get fresh."

Hank burst out laughing at that. "He's completely right, but I meant he was cute to _you_. You seem to worry about him more than the other two."

"Um, yeah, 'cause of he's my best friend. We're gonna get married."

"You wouldn't marry him if he wasn't cute, would you?" Hank asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess," Katie said. "Mom says everyone is pretty, though, and I shouldn't pick on anyone for looks or nothin,' so I try and think everyone's cute."

"There you have it," Hank said.

"What about you, Dr. Blue? Do you think someone's cute?"

"Are you trying to play matchmaker, Katie?"

"Well, you're askin' about Nate, so my dad says turn-bout's fair play."

"It is," he said before he set her down. "Why don't you work something out with your parents to have some food ready when they come up? It probably won't be too long."

"Okay," she said brightly, giving him a wave before she skipped upstairs.


	18. I Can't Do This

**Chapter 18 - I Can't Do This**

* * *

It wasn't really until late the next morning when Jan finally fluttered her eyes open, and when she did, it was pretty clear she was hurting.

"Hey, you're alright," Scott said, though his voice was gravelly, and he was still wearing the same clothes he'd been wearing the day before. At least he'd managed to talk the kids into going to _bed _instead of sleeping in the medical wing with him - even if James had made a point to check on Tony before he'd allow Natasha to take him away from the medical unit.

"Are you?" Jan asked quietly.

"Fine," he said with a quiet shrug.

She smiled lightly. "I'm sorry I worried you."

Scott nodded and put his hand on her arm. "Yeah," he said in a breath. "Yeah, don't… do that."

"Roger that," she said, nodding once.

Scott watched her for a long time before he couldn't stop himself from reaching out to brush some sweaty hair from her face. "So, Hank says you're grounded for a while. In case you were wondering."

"I so earned it?" Jan said. "It totally wasn't my fault, and I didn't get the plate number on that guy, but I'll take it."

Scott smirked at that. "You know, if you want, you can stay with us while you're stuck being a civilian."

"Are you sure?" Jan said. "I'll bet I can pay someone to take care of me if it's too much."

"Jan, I've seen James through just about every childhood illness on the planet, not to mention all three kids have had their share of broken bones-"

"And you're saying you miss that," she teased.

"I'm saying that even if I'm not in the business anymore, I never got out of practice on _this part_," he said.

"I know, I just … don't want to make you think I _expect _it, you know? And I know your space has to be a thing with the kids, and it's a big imposition. I know it is." Again, she was picking up steam the more she spoke. "Idon'twanttopush. Or assume… or..."

"You're not pushing," Scott cut in. "_I'm _the one making the invite."

"Really?" she said, double checking again and almost wincing. "You're not going to decide I fell off a building to get your attention?"

"Jan, if you fell off a building on purpose, we're going to have problems, because I don't think I can _handle _that," Scott said, one eyebrow raised.

"I didn't," she swore, then winced a little from moving too quickly. "I was trying to be funny ... "

Scott let out a breath and then leaned in to kiss her forehead. "I know. Sorry. I just… you scared the hell out of me."

"I'm sorry; I scared me too."

"Let's try not to do that anymore, huh?" Scott said, smiling lightly.

"Yeah, totally worst decision of the week."

"And that's including the bad sushi on Monday that we were feeling until Thursday…"

"That was _totally _not my fault either."

Scott let out a breath of a laugh and kissed her. "Oh, sure. You weren't trying to poison me at all. I've heard that before."

"I'm really not the poisoning type," Jan said.

"Spoken like a true evil queen…" He smiled and cupped her chin. "I'm just glad you're alive, Jan. Really."

"Me too, and for the record? Best wake up in the hospital I can remember."

"Let's not make a habit of it."

"Cross my heart," she swore.

* * *

For the next couple of months, the Summers family had something almost like normalcy. Jan stayed with them through James' birthday, which she loved, and all the way through the Christmas Break, too. Not only Scott but all three of the kids were spoiling Jan with their attention, too. It was starting to really feel … comfortable for everyone involved. Every one of the Summers family was relieved to see her doing better - and the kids were happy to see their dad smiling again as he took care of Jan.

It was fun for Jan, too, because she got to see the four Summerses at work, balancing Rachel's schooling, James' tutoring, and Nate's sports all while never making her feel like she was a burden.

It was honestly hard for her to think about going back to the team when she was enjoying playing house - but she _loved _being an Avenger, and she really did want to go back to it now that she was back up to speed.

The problem now would be telling Scott.

She _knew _he hadn't taken it well when she'd been hurt. Clint had been pretty clear on that much when he'd helped her pack up her things so she could stay at the apartment for a while. She knew Clint was trying to watch out for her, and she appreciated it, but that was a heavy thing to have hanging around her neck.

It was just… she really did love being part of Scott's life. Especially now that she had a full-time part in their lives. She could have stayed there forever helping the kids with homework, playing house, and curling up with Scott while the kids were all gone. She really could have. It was the instant family she'd longed for.

It was that much harder for her when she thought about how he might take it. Especially when she came out of the bedroom and Scott was sitting at the table at his laptop looking over the school schedule for Nate so he could find a good time for Alex to visit again - he and Lorna had "news" that _probably _meant a little one if how cautious Lorna had been acting at Christmas was any indicator. It was all very… domestic.

"So, I talked with Steve, and he says it's totally fine if I want to keep living here. I can still be on the team even if I'm not in the tower. I mean, Clint and Natasha live here most of the time too, so if you're - I mean, I don't want to assume anything _permanent_, but like, I sort of need to figure out if I'm living with the team again now that I'm back up to snuff…"

Scott frowned as he looked up from his laptop. "Are you sure?"

"Well, yeah," Jan said as she dropped into the seat nearest him.

"So you're rejoining… are you sure?" Scott asked again, his voice a little tighter.

Jan frowned at that. "I never quit, Scott. I just had to heal up."

"Right. I know. That wasn't…" Scott shook his head and held his breath. "That didn't come out right."

Jan reached over to rest her hand on his wrist. "You can take your time thinking it all over, and this has been fantastic, so don't think I'm trying to push for something more permanent or anything. And I'm _not _running away. It's just - if you want me to go back now, I get it."

Scott shifted his hand so he was holding hers. "It's not anything like that..." He paused, and she could see him make an honest effort to take a deeper breath. "I'm sorry, Jan. I'm a mess."

"We all are," she promised, giving his hand a little squeeze.

Scott nodded. "I want to ask you to stay," he admitted.

Jan lit up on hearing it. "That's great!"

"No, Jan, I-" Scott closed his eyes for a second and let all the air out of his lungs. "I can't. I can't handle it. I can't take a chance to lose anybody else."

"I'm fighting to keep them safe," Jan said quietly, her smile completely gone by that time. "You know that, right?"

"Jan, I _lived _that," Scott said in a breath. "From the day that we started the X-Men, that was my life."

"I know; I'm not saying you didn't. I just … the job isn't done yet."

"It never is," Scott said. He let his gaze drop. "I still believe in it, you know - the professor's dream."

"Of course you do," Jan said gently.

"But I can't … this isn't my fight anymore. God, Jan, I couldn't - when you got hurt, I couldn't even _breathe, _and it was just like-"

Jan stared at him for just a moment before she darted forward and stole a kiss. "It's okay. I know. I get it. Family has to come first."

"You're still part of mine," Scott clarified, looking positively miserable as he ran his thumb over her knuckles. "I'm just not built for your life anymore."

"Which is a big part of why I _can't _stop," she told him. "You shouldn't feel like you have to pick …"

"I know. And I know I can't ask you to," Scott said. "Which is why I won't."

"This has to be the dumbest reason to split up," she said as she wiped away the tears brimming at her lash line before it could wreck her mascara. "But I get it. I just don't want you guys to disappear on me, either."

"We're not going anywhere," Scott promised. "Nate likes his school too much, and James is doing well with the tutors. And…" He let out a breath. "Look, maybe one of these days I'll figure out how to breathe."

Jan nodded almost enthusiastically at that. "I hope so. That's not how I want to take your breath away."

Scott couldn't help but laugh at that. "I love you, Jan, you know that?"

There wasn't any warning before Jan launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders to hold on tight. She _had _to to keep from completely bawling on the spot, after all. "Love you too."

* * *

Considering how well things had been going between Jan and Scott, Steve thought when Jan showed up at the tower that she was there to grab the rest of her clothes and other things for a more _permanent _stay. And he was absolutely thrilled for her and ready to congratulate her - until he saw the look on her face.

"Jan, what happened?" he asked, at her side in an instant with a hand at her elbow.

"Oh, just … that's it. That's all."

"What?" Steve stared at her. "What are you talking about?"

"We called it off." She shrugged her shoulders up in a motion that didn't look natural on her at _all_.

"_Why_?" Steve led her somewhere she could sit down, still looking like the rug had been pulled out from underneath him.

"Cause we love each other, and we're going two different directions, and it just isn't gonna work," she said in a rush before she started to cry.

Steve didn't really know what else to do, so he pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, Jan. We were all pulling for you both."

"He just can't take _anything _to do with a team. I thought it was just the X-Men that had him upset, really! But I don't blame him; he was _so scared _when I got hurt …"

Steve frowned harder when he heard it. "Is _that _what… Jan, I'm so sorry."

"I mean … I kinda should have seen it coming. Really. I should have."

"No, how could you have?" Steve asked.

"Steve," Jan said, stopping to look him squarely in the face. "He's _so _not even close to over what happened to his team. _At all_. All the warning signs were there - he didn't want to be spotted too close to the tower when we first got started. I should have seen it!"

Steve let out a breath. "I don't think any of them are over what happened," he had to admit. "Hell, Jan - we're not over what happened to them."

"Yeah, but it's so … it's different for him. It is." Jan shook her head. "You'd have to really be around him a lot to understand it. But it wasn't the same for him as it was for the others."

Steve nodded quietly as he thought it over. "It's hard to lose someone you _led_," he said, thinking of the war and Bucky and everything he'd seen, too. "Especially when you consider them family, too."

"And I really think the only thing keeping him going is the kids. And you wouldn't believe the look he gets when Rachel does something little that is _so _Jean, or when … well. Whenever James questions him about _anything_."

"You really love him," Steve said gently.

Jan nodded her head. "Which is why I won't stop the fight," she said, drawing herself up a little bit. "That's what happens if we turn our backs again. How many other people are just as crushed as he is?"

Steve smiled at that and pulled Jan under his chin. "There's the Wasp we all know and love."

"I'm not going to let those kids be afraid of keeping heroes in their lives, either," Jan said in an almost sullen tone. "We _have _to do this. And they need to see it's okay."

"I had sort of assumed Nate would let the others in on that secret when his 'best friend' becomes the next Hawkeye," Steve said, trying to tease her into a better mood.

"Oh, sure," she said with a sniffle. "But all three of them are ones to watch. _Mark my words_, they won't be content to be so …."

"Hidden?" Steve offered.

"Yes. Yes. That. Some of the questions coming out of those kids …"

"That actually gives me some hope for them."

"Keep an eye on what James is looking into," Jan said, pointing a finger at him. "He's a lot sneakier than the other two, even if he's more hesitant to cross Scott."

"That doesn't surprise me one bit," Steve said. He let out a breath then got to his feet and pulled her up with him. "But right now, one of my best friends just had her heart broken. And that's where my focus is. How many Hydra LMDs do you want to hit? I'll line 'em up for you and you can break Hawkeye's record. Again."

"Right now, I think what I really need is Natasha, some gelato, and a spa." Jan shook her head before she patted his arm. "No offense. I'll kick your trash around tomorrow."

"None taken," Steve assured her, one arm around her shoulders until they could find Natasha.

* * *

"Are you sure I can't convince you to stay in Bed-Stuy?" Natasha said for what had to be the fiftieth time. "You know my security is top notch; you'd have back up just one floor above you…"

"And Avengers dropping in, drawing attention …" Scott let out a breath. "I started paying attention, you know. After Jan was here for a while. It's just a matter of time before someone spots one of us and puts two and two together. Your security is great, Natasha. It is. But it's no substitute for as much anonymity as I can give these kids."

It was still fresh - the break up with Jan - and it had been obvious that Scott was ready to put more space between his family and the teams if he possibly could. At least, as much space as possible when Rachel was going to school in Westchester and James was still getting tutored by Stark's hires. The image inducer James was using to get in and out of the building was working, but no one knew how long that was going to last.

Natasha pursed her lips as she considered Scott's angle. "Then at least let me help you find a suitable place. I know that the very idea of changing schools has Nate pulling out his hair."

"The neighborhood is already too busy for-"

"There are other neighborhoods in the borough," Natasha said, cutting him off. "You'd still be close enough if you _needed _help but far enough away to have your space. And the boys could keep their schedules _mostly _intact."

Scott watched her for a moment, weighing out what she had to say. "You've been thinking about this already, haven't you?"

"I may have had a contingency plan in mind," Natasha admitted. "But selfishly, I did want to keep you nearer to us, so I also kept it to myself. It was nice to be near you four for so long."

Scott let out a breath of a laugh. "Alright. Show me what you've got."

What she had was a house in a reasonably well-to-do neighborhood with room enough for the kids to have their own rooms - and a view of Manhattan that made it possible for them to spot Avenger's tower from their living room if they opened the curtains. The neighborhood was clean - or at least as clean as Brooklyn could be.

"Quiet neighbors," Natasha said as they walked through the house. "Good area … fairly conservative, but I think you'll find that they won't take issue minding their own business. Mostly."

"Mostly?"

She shrugged lightly. "They're very religious. Don't be surprised if you get more questions about your faith than you do anything else."

"I'm not so sure that's a good fit," Scott said, though Natasha was already shaking her head.

"Don't be ridiculous," Natasha said. "I've looked this over more times than I care to admit, and this area is the perfect spot." When Scott didn't look convinced, she blew out an impatient breath. "Sentinels aren't _allowed _in this neighborhood, Scott. The population here - they won't stand for anything even close to something that targets people based on their _genes _or their familial ties. The area has strong political pull. None of the politicians on either side want to cross them, so they get more say than other areas. And … there are a few mutants in the area that enjoy the protection that this neighborhood provides."

Scott didn't look entirely convinced. "This is a little more advanced concern than just being mutants."

"And for anything even resembling special forces, you have me somewhat close - and ... "

Scott raised an eyebrow when Natasha let her sentiment fall. "And …."

"And … we're just a neighborhood over from where Steve lives."

"Ah."

"Hey. Everyone in the borough is proud of their local superhero," Natasha said with a crooked smile. "And they won't bother you. I'm sure of it." She bumped his shoulder with hers. "Besides … don't try to tell me you didn't want to see where Captain America grew up."

Scott didn't have any solid argument against it - and Natasha was very sure she'd seen the smallest smile tugging at the corner of his mouth - so before he could argue it, she made the call to get Tony to have one of his unconnected companies buy the place. By the time the ink was dry, and even before Scott could get the kids to really pack up anything, Tony and Natasha headed into the place wearing image inducers with his newest security measures to give them a serious upgrade before any of them had the chance to even step foot in the building.

When moving day finally came, though, Scott felt far worse than he'd prepared for when Nate was clearly heartbroken to leave the building in Bed-Stuy, even with Natasha promising that the apartment would remain their spare safe house.

Still, the little boy was dragging his feet as they made the trek to almost the other side of Brooklyn to their new place by the river. Rachel was there to help - and to set up her room - but neither she nor James seemed to react to the move at all, instead working hard to get the job done.

They'd barely gotten their second round of boxes from the truck when the first neighbor came by bearing welcome gifts and a broad smile, welcoming them to the neighborhood. Of course, it only took a look from Scott before James and Rachel started moving a little quicker to get things put away while Scott spoke with the neighbor - and they both were watching as the dreaded first questions came out, like they had any other time they'd stayed somewhere. It didn't matter if it was for a few days or for much longer; it was always the same. 'Welcome, welcome - where's your wife?' or 'When will your wife come by?' or one that was somehow worse 'What did she do that let you have custody of all three?'

And the questions were always repeated ad nauseam, with every single person that came through, so the Summers kids were preparing for a good few weeks of bucking their dad up after 'well-intentioned' neighbors came nosing around.

But this time, it seemed just a little bit different. And it was Scott who had noticed it, not the kids.

_One time. _Just one time amid the dozens of neighbors that came by - just once did he have to answer anything regarding his MIA wife. Scott answered it as truthfully as he could - since even for him, the truth with a few tried and true omissions was a much safer route to take than a cover story. And his answer of 'she died a few years ago in a fire' was enough to placate neighbor number one … and no one else that followed asked about her at all.

Instead, the questions turned to the kids as they brought gifts to welcome the Summers family, and it wasn't long before the kitchen was stacked with baked goods and bottles of wine and honey. To be frank, the kids didn't know how to process it, and Rachel was shaking her head within the first hour. "If we're really going to live here, I'm going to have to learn _yiddish_," she said. "It's driving me nuts not knowing what they're all projecting toward us."

Scott smirked at her line of thinking as they sat down to their first meal together in the new place. "Is this for threat assessment or curiosity?"

"Both," Rachel replied truthfully, and Scott let the matter fall, though he couldn't help but be amused by Rachels commitment to nosiness. She really was so much like her mother sometimes.

It wasn't long after that, though, that one of the neighbors came by with a concerned look. "I haven't seen those kids of yours in school," said the woman, who, Scott realized, was a teacher at the closest school to where they were living. "Are they alright? Or are they in the Montessori?"

It took Scott a moment to answer, though he'd known that it was _possible _for this to come up - it wasn't something he'd dealt with in Bed-Stuy, and again, a partial truth for now seemed to be the wisest route. "No, they're fine," he said, putting on a practiced smile - or close enough to it that most people wouldn't push for more. "My daughter is in a private school upstate, and my boys … well. My youngest wanted to stay in the school he was in before, so we're trying to keep him there for now. It's a few miles east. And my older boy … he's got tutors in the city."

"He's okay though, too?"

"Yeah, we just haven't been able to find a program to keep up with him," Scott reassured her. "He's tested off the charts, but I didn't want to put him in classes with kids that were a lot older than him. Tutors are a better fit."

She seemed relieved to hear it - just before she went on a bit of a rant about how much trouble it had been for her cousins-in-law who had a genius too - though that little girl simply skipped a few grades and got caught up in affairs much too old for her age. "You're doing the right thing, keeping that boy away from older kids like that all the time." She paused after she'd gone down the first two steps toward the street. "I hope your daughter isn't in a questionable place, though … those boarding schools can be _trouble_."

"I'm on good terms with the headmistress," Scott said, trying not to smile at his new neighbor's concerns. She sounded genuine - and perfectly prepared to impart her wisdom on him should he answer her questions incorrectly.

"Good," she said, pausing to nod to herself as if her job there was done - for now. "You know, if you're not busy, we always have room Friday night at dinner."

"I'll keep that in mind," Scott said, admittedly a little uncomfortable at how approachable most of the neighbors were trying to be. Whatever Scott was expecting out of this neighborhood … this wasn't it. But it wasn't _necessarily _a problem, either. After all, even knowing that they had solid reason to hide and to keep away from trouble, he didn't want his kids to grow up paranoid and afraid of everything…. So maybe, if these people were being genuinely nice, it would let them have _some _semblance of normalcy.


	19. Scott, You Need To Shave

**Chapter 19 - Scott, You Need To Shave**

* * *

For weeks after the big move, Scott was simply going through the motions. He barely spoke outside of what he felt was needed - and that mostly boiled down to making sure that homework was done, meals were served, and the kids were sticking to their new, slightly altered routine.

And over the course of time as they quietly tried to settle in, Scott seemed to lose the drive to do all of the day to day self care that he was usually so meticulous about. The most glaring example of such was of course the full, beautiful beard he was wearing.

A month in and his hair was shaggy, his beard was getting bushy, and he was still quite clearly mourning the end of the relationship with Jan. He couldn't watch the news with the kids around. Not without obsessing over it and scanning to see how Jan was holding up because of course, if she was upset, that was Scott's fault. She was healed up from all her injuries, but even that had him watching for her more, worrying about her. And pining.

There was a part of him that wanted to throw caution to the wind … but the wound from losing Jean was _still _white-hot when he allowed himself to think about it. And now, when he was in the depths of depression nd trying to keep a stiff upper lip for the kids, it was like those early days back at the cabin all over again, but this time, the kids weren't as needy and that only meant Scott didn't have the busy work that came with three kids that still needed teddy bears and tucking in to keep him distracted from the ache in his chest.

Losing Jean had been soul crushing - the single worst moment of his life was the moment that their psychic link went silent. But that didn't mean that this wasn't enough to send him down a spiral too. And this time the spiral didn't involve losing the mother of his children - it was more about the doubts he had.

Doubts that he was teaching them the right thing by having them hide away. Doubts that trying to keep the separation between them and the teams was giving them the right message when he couldn't even think about hero work while he was doing everything in his power to keep them _safe_ and alive.

Doubts that he _could _manage any of that when he was both no longer in possession of his powers while being a walking target with an x-gene that had no _use _anymore.

If it wasn't for the fact that the kids all seemed to be thriving in their studies and _needing _the time together with him on the weekends, he'd have rethought the arrangement all together. But that would once again draw down the need to have the Avengers intervene - and as it was, they were already overly involved in th safety of the Summers family. He couldn't ask them to move them already. And he couldn't take James from his tutors any more than he could take Nate away from the normalcy he'd found competing with Katie at school.

He was trying to get through the day. That's all he wanted to do, but he seemed to be stuck on just finishing his coffee. The day slipped by, as it so often did, and Scott seemed almost startled by the alarm that he had set to tell him that he had five minutes before he had to leave to get Nate. He'd set the alarm intending to get some work done while the kids were gone … but somehow, the day had slipped by him and instead of doing his usual rush to get himself together, all Scott could do was take his mug to the sink, dump the contents out, rinse the cup, then pick up his keys where he'd left them near the door on his way out.

He didn't bother with grabbing a coat. He wasn't driving anyhow, just … walking to the subway station down a few blocks so Nate wouldn't be riding home with an Avenger in tow when Hawkeye inevitably elected himself to step in and help.

It was bad enough that James was getting rides home from any one of half a dozen different Avengers, though Scott didn't know that James had been keeping to himself more while he was a the tower to avoid as much time with any of them as he could manage. And that meant that for him, the safest place to hide to avoid too much talk about _feelings _was to stick close to Tony when he _had _to be near the timing was such that Scott didn't _know _that James had managed to talk them into letting Happy fill in to take him home more often than not so the Avengers could stick with keeping Jan upbeat.

And Scott was distracted enough that he didn't see that Nate was on his best behavior at school and at home - or that he had James helping him with whatever homework was giving him trouble just so he wouldn't bother his dad when he looked so forlorn.

They just didn't know how much he could have used that. So it only made things harder for those first few weeks in the new house.

He picked Nate up and walked home with him, lost in his thoughts to the point that Stark's upgraded eyes were the only reason he was able to pay attention to possible threats.

By the time all the kids got home, all three of them were convinced they needed to do something to help - they just didn't know what. And they _definitely _knew that they couldn't get away with putting on anything with an X on it like they'd been talking about. Not with Scott as depressed as he was.

None of them expected Scott to more or less get forced into being more social when their neighbor showed up.

Nate blinked up at the tall man on their door - this was different, considering most of the well-wishers that were obviously both concerned and interested in their dad. "Um. Hi."

The stranger smiled at Nate warmly. "Hello, I'm afraid I need to apologize for not coming by to introduce myself sooner. Is your father home, young man?"

Nate crossed his arms as he looked the man over. "Yeah, he's in the living room. Who're you?"

"Rabbi Toby Cohen," he replied, still smiling warmly.

"Huh." Nate tipped his head to the side and then held up a hand. "Wait a minute - I'll go get 'im," he said. And then, characteristic of a little boy his age, Nate started yelling for Scott when he'd only taken a couple steps away from the door.

A few moments later, Scott got to the door, frowning slightly - though the rabbi couldn't have known that he was accessing his scans to make sure he wasn't armed. "I really appreciate all the well-wishing, but we're fine, really."

Rabbi Cohen held his hands out to his side. "It's a very nosy neighborhood, I don't know what to tell you." He smiled to himself. "But that's not why I'm here. Not entirely. I am your most negligent neighbor when it comes to playing welcome wagon, but I think that makes me your most honest one."

Scott smirked only the slightest bit. "Probably."

"Do you have a little time to chat, Mister Meuller? I have to admit, I'm not the kind to get excited about seeing what kinds of things people are moving in with. I prefer to get to know the people that are trying to mind their own business."

Scott glanced to Nate, and Nate nodded quickly, going to find his brother and sister so the three of them could find something else to do while Scott invited the rabbi into the living room. "There's not much to tell," he said. "Like you said: we try to keep to ourselves."

Rabbi Cohen waved a hand as he took a seat. "And most of what people would ask you answered already. I tend to watch the people in my neighborhood before trying to bother them. And you … are you alright?"

"We're fine," Scott said automatically.

"No, I know the kids are okay," the Rabbi said. "I'm asking how _you _are. You haven't lived here more than a few months and already you can go on autopilot like someone who's been here their whole lives." He gestured to Scott openly. "And it's not a criticism, but that beard wasn't something you grew to fit in." He leaned forward. "It is a good look. It'd be better with some help though."

Scott paused, absently raising his hand to his chin. "We moved at a… rough time. That's all."

"Anything I can do to ease things for you?" Rabbi Cohen asked. "Or was it just that the closing happened too close to an Anniversary … or …"

"No, nothing like that," Scott said.

"Then I hope you forgive me, because you look like every grieving widow I've ever met who's going through a knot hole. I can't ignore that look. It goes against everything I am."

Scott frowned and then decided to fall back on his usual tactic: a little bit of truth. It was easier to keep the story straight that way anyway. "I tried to get back into dating. It didn't go well." He figured that would not only explain it - but might have the extended consequence of this rabbi asking the "well-wishers" to back off.

"I'm sorry to hear that. If there was some kind of signal I could light in the window for you to get the single women to stop, I don't know that I would."

Scott very nearly smiled; he could appreciate the rabbi's sense of humor. "At least you're honest."

"That's what I tried to tell you earlier," Rabbi Cohen said. "And also that the area is nosy - and that I can't ignore when a neighbor is in pain. So. We're all caught up. What are we going to do about it? We can't let you wander the streets looking so downhearted or the matchmakers will be beating down your door."

"So you're saying I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place here."

"I'm saying 'welcome to the neighborhood. You can use a friend - _what time is good for coffee_'?"

Scott shook his head, an almost-smirk at the corner of his mouth. "You remind me of an old friend," he said, thinking of Kurt and the way he was persistently trying to instill faith and hope in his friends at their lowest points.

"I will go ahead and take that as a complement, but I still need to know what time to show up with coffee."

Scott shook his head again. "You're not going to accept a 'no', are you?"

"In this instance, I don't even know the meaning of the word." He shrugged. "Give it a chance. Worst case scenario, after a few times if you really can't stand my company, I won't bother you but to ask how the kids are."

Scott tipped his head to the side and then sighed. "The mornings are busy with the kids going to different schools. Your best bet is late in the morning, around ten."

"I'll be here at ten fifteen." He held up one hand as he got to his feet. "And I'll bring the coffee."

* * *

Winter was melting into spring, finally, and as Brooklyn and the rest of the city began to kick off their outdoor activities, the Summers family found themselves hosting the _other _Summerses.

Alex and Lorna had finally come to visit - and they were radiating joy everywhere they went. Alex was his usual positive self and Lorna was even more cheerful and excited in spite of the obvious baby bump she was carrying.

"Hey big brother," Alex said with a grin as he pulled Scott into a tight hug, before Scott could even begin to address what he was seeing while Lorna pulled the kids over to say hello with bear hugs and lots of kisses. "Nice place."

"It's new," Scott said, blinking a few times before he smiled despite himself. "And that's not the only new thing. Boy or girl?"

"A boy," Lorna said, grinning with an arm around each of Scott's boys. "I think that's what my family does best this generation."

"Wanda's boys must be thrilled," Scott said, still stuck in a surprised smile.

"They are," Lorna said, beaming up at him with a grin. "Of course they are. They're _such _sweethearts."

"I haven't seen them in a while. Send them my love, will you?"

"I'd rather you guys just came to _visit_," Lorna said. "Maybe when the baby gets here? August?" She grinned wider. "Please?"

"I… will think about it," Scott said. "But you have to talk to your father. Last time we were there, he was pushing for a more permanent stay. Again."

"Oh, Daddy just wants to help if he can," Lorna said. "He worries about you, Scott."

"We're alright," Scott said, absently bringing a hand to his recently-shaved chin. "The community here is supportive. Sentinels aren't legally allowed in the neighborhood-level supportive."

"I think he'd like this neighborhood," Lorna agreed before she pulled Nate over to kiss his cheek again - and made sure to leave a lipstick print just to watch him complain about it. "It's _lovely_."

"Aunt Lorna-a-a-a-a-a," Nate whined.

"Get used to it, handsome - _all _the girls are going to want to kiss you!" Lorna told him with a delighted laugh.

"It's already started," Scott said with a dry smirk.

"_Dad_."

"If I'm wrong, I'll say so."

"It's true," Rachel said, smiling to herself at how much their Dad was already enjoying himself. "And Nate's in trouble _all the time _with Katie."

"Rachel!" Nate tipped his head back and groaned. "How come _I'm _in trouble?"

"I ask myself that every day," Rachel shot back, crossing her arms. "You're just like this."

Nate stuck his tongue out at Rachel, but he projected to her: _It's hard to get mad, because Dad's just… so… happy. _

_I know. And I think he's actually considering visiting them, too. _Rachel was grinning at him while she took her turn getting the treatment from Aunt Lorna and enjoying every bit of it.

Nate smiled. _I hope so. He's happier with Aunt Lorna and Uncle Alex. _

_Do you want to go? _Rachel asked.

Nate paused. _Not… really. Magneto gets pushy, and he treats James different than you and me, and that doesn't feel right. James hasn't even gone for a long time. Which isn't fair; he's our brother!_

_He doesn't want to go there, _Rachel said. _He wouldn't go when we were smaller, either. I think he's kinda afraid of that place. _

_So, yeah, I don't think Dad'll say yes because of James, but, like, Rach. He's smiling? _

_I know. It's nice. _Rachel turned to grin at her brother. _And don't say anything to James about Dad not going for any particular reason. _

_Don't worry; I won't. _

Before they could continue their conversation, Lorna busted them out. "Oh … I've seen that look before. Alex. _Alex_. They're talking privately. I'll bet it's about you and your brother."

Alex broke into a grin and spun Rachel in a hug. "You're _just like _your parents. Both of them. Stop that," he teased.

"I didn't … we weren't talking about you!" Rachel laughed.

"Well, what else is there to talk about? I'm _clearly _the life of the party. Or I _guess _you could talk about my son. That's good too."

"What are you going to name him?" Rachel asked, knowing that her Dad wanted to ask, but hadn't found a good way to do that yet.

"It's the subject of some… discussion," Alex admitted, smiling over at Lorna. "We've got it narrowed down to 'Michael' and 'Christopher' - just didn't want to steal Scott's thunder, seeing as he gave Nate five hundred names and Christopher's one."

Scott shook his head at Alex. "I don't mind, you idiot."

"Scott, you know he's just like this," Lorna said. "He _wants _to rile you. I think he misses when someone _else _calls him a dork."

"Oh, good; I'm glad you haven't stopped," Scott said, smirking Lorna's way.

"I'd have to lose my mind to stop," Lorna laughed, then finally got away from the kids to give Scott a hug. "We've missed you!"

"You'll have to visit more often, then," Scott said as he returned the hug. "I've got three kids with three different school schedules. I feel like you have the easier time finding a minute."

"I know, but _summertime_, Scott," Lorna said.

"Surfing's going to be great, too," Alex said.

"Come take my kids to the beach," Scott said. "Nate's going out for baseball. He wants to play every sport under the sun. Throw surfing in there…"

"Alright, I hear you. You're not interested in visiting. What about a joint family trip to Hawaii again?"

Scott actually grinned - something that Alex and Lorna didn't realize was as big a deal as it was. "Now you're talking."

"Alright then," Lorna said. "As soon as the baby's here and we can travel - something in the fall maybe? Doesn't have to be very long, just a weekend would do it. A _long _weekend."

"Sounds perfect," Scott agreed. "I'm sure we can find a few days somewhere."

"Great!" Alex said, grinning wider as he came over to throw his arm around Scott's shoulders. "So bigger, older, much older looking brother … how about you fill me in on everything that's happened since Christmas?" He pulled Scott along into the kitchen leaving Lorna to make over the kids in peace - and she was thrilled to get them to herself, too - sure to pepper each of them with a dozen questions - and kisses, much to Nate's well hidden delight.

She made Rachel promise to show her around the school before she left - and she promised Nate to watch him play catch with Alex as long as he promised not to take it easy on him, of course. And she talked James into agreeing to take her to the botanical garden, since she was sure that asking to go to the tower might push the wrong buttons with those in charge _there_.

Lorna was a great fit for Alex, and she was bubbling with raw joy more often than not, but somewhere in the farthest reaches of her psyche, she _did _buy into a lot of what her father said. She wasn't blatant about it, but she did have a healthy distrust of the Avengers after everything had gone south with them so often. The fact that Wanda and Vision had been on the team for so long hadn't really tempered her opinion of the organization as a whole. Especially when faced with Wanda's reasons for leaving.

So while Scott was cautious about spending time in Genosha, Lorna was almost as cautious about spending time in the city. Her concern however, was tempered by the confidence of someone who felt they were more untouchable than those around them. So it didn't show quite as vividly as it did for Scott. And she really did love the kids, so she wanted one on one time with each of them in their own environments.

Alex … Alex never did understand nuance, though. And he was very much like an overgrown kid himself most of the time, so for him it was always a simple matter of 'your house or mine'.

By the time the Summers brothers returned to the living room, Lorna had moved on to teasing Nate about how tall and lanky he was getting to be. "Are you sure you don't want to be a basketball player?"

Nate shrugged. "Maybe I'll try that next year. But I'm pretty good at football."

"American or everyone else's football?" Lorna asked.

"Yes," Nate replied with a crooked grin.

"You might have to teach Wanda's boys. They can't get a decent team to play. Either sport."

"Yeah, and that's why I don't wanna live on your island. Sorry, Aunt Lorna, but you don't have a good football team," Nate teased.

Lorna pulled him over to kiss his temple. "That's as good of an excuse as I've ever heard," she said. "I'll be sure to bring it up to Daddy. 'Not enough sports. Your country is lame because of it.'" She turned to grin at James. "What about you? What are we lacking for you?"

James didn't miss a beat or take any time to consider it before he answered with one word. "Snow." Which was of course, impossible to honestly _get _for an island so near the equator.

"Boys my age," Rachel put in, since Lorna was looking her way.

"We have those, actually," Lorna said. "And you're not even related to them." She smiled at her. "I'll bet there are even some other telepath boys."

"Yeah, but she's got her _eye _on someone at school," Nate said, grinning outright.

"So do you," James said, not letting the opportunity pass when Nate was obviously crushing on Katie.

"Um, no I don't," Nate said.

James stared at him without saying a word or blinking until Nate got frustrated - and only then it was only to say "Really."

"Really!"

James rolled his eyes at that. "Sure, Nate. _whatever _you say."

Alex burst out laughing and pulled James over one armed to give him a hug. "You can't just bust him out like that, bud. He takes after my big brother too much. You'll _break _him."

"It's literally the same thing he's trying to do to Rachel -only Rachel isn't flipping out and lying to herself about it," James said, which had Alex laughing harder.

"Give your baby brother a break, wouldja?" Alex snickered. "And let's order a pizza. That's something else about Genosha - they don't have much for pizza."

"Yeah, we can't live there then," Nate said. "Ever."

While Lorna did her best to act shocked and shaken - and got Nate laughing uproariously, Scott took a moment to pull his little brother into a hug. "Hey. Congratulations, really. I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner."

"She wanted to," Alex admitted. "But I really needed to see you in person with news like this." He looked over to where Lorna was doing a _fine _job of keeping all three kids engaged with her, even going out of her way to snuggle on James as soon as she finally got a good hold of him. And while the two tucked in for a good bear hug, Alex took advantage of the moment for a little privacy and dropped his voice low. "I'll be honest, Scott … I think this is the scariest thing I've ever done. And that's including everything with the X-Men and taking on the North Shore."

"Alex," Scott said, smirking crookedly. "You've got this."

"I don't know-"

"What are you worried about? You grew up with a Dad. You know how it's done. You're amazing with my kids, and I'll bet you're great with Lorna's nephews, too."

"It's a little different when it's nieces and nephews, Scott. And yeah. My dad was … we had our issues, but he was there, yeah," Alex said as he stepped back from his brother, one hand at the side of his neck in a gesture that had to be genetic. "I wish you'd have been adopted with me, Scott. Mom would have loved you, and you would have gotten to know my Dad better. Probably would have had _him _toeing the line." He smiled ruefully. "We're headed to see Haley next. She ought to get the same square chance to meet her nephew. And I know my parents are going to be excited to find out about their grandson. I just … I'm not good at stuff like this. Not like you."

Scott was honestly surprised by that, his eyebrows high as he took half a step back. "What?"

"Come on, Scott -you're a _natural_. How do you do it?"

"Alex … you'll be amazing. If Lorna didn't think you'd be great, there's no way she'd have let you-"

"Yeah, that … well it was kind of a surprise," Alex admitted with a troublemaking grin. "Her morning sickness involved levitating everything metal in the room."

"Alex … _stop_."

"See? This is what I'm talking about!"

Scott laughed and draped his arm around Alex's shoulders as he steered him toward the kids and Lorna. "You're going to be fine. In spite of being yourself. Relax and enjoy it."

"Yeah, Alex," Lorna said in a teasing tone that had Rachel giggling in spite of herself. "Did you order the pizza yet?"

When Alex paused, she sent the kids after him to tackle him - leaving her and Scott to handle being the logistics of the big crew.


	20. Home Sweet Brooklyn

**Chapter 20 - Home Sweet Brooklyn**

* * *

"You've been running yourself ragged lately," Rabbi Cohen said as he took a seat at Scott's breakfast table. "More so than usual. What's the new drama?" The little family had been living in the neighborhood for a little over a year - and over the course of time, their neighbors had proven to be both friendly and patient with giving them a chance to warm up. When the little Summers family _hadn't _joined in on any of the block parties in the first half-year of living there, the rabbi next door had taken notice. Especially since he'd yet to meet a kid that didn't join in an open party sooner or later. But these three? They seemed to be perfectly obedient and quiet - another little thing that had gotten him motivated to make friends with the family … to _check in_.

Even at that, it had taken Scott a while to warm up to him - though he was much more willing to trust the rabbi once he realized that not only did Rabbi Cohen know they were mutants but he knew _exactly _who they were. And there hadn't been a problem with it. After they'd been living there for a year and there wasn't even a hint of trouble, Scott had warmed up enough to be social - and he could at this point even say he was friends with Toby Cohen.

So when he asked about the latest family drama, Scott just poured him some of the orange juice from breakfast because that was what he had on hand while the coffee percolated and sat down with him. "Nate's started soccer, and he wants to do baseball again in the summer," he explained. "He was pushing for hockey and football this fall, too, but I told him he's gotta slow down and do one at a time."

"That's good for him, isn't it? The soccer?" Toby asked as he reached for the juice.

Scott shrugged lightly. "It's _great _for him. It's a lot for me when the other two are still doing private studies. And I have to look into the coaches."

"I thought your pretty red-headed friend was the one that liked to do all the digging," Toby said with a smirk.

Scott smirked right back. "She's busy right now. Her husband got into some trouble with some Russians again, and it's more time-consuming than anything else right now."

"So business as usual with those two, hmm?" Toby teased.

"You'd think they would figure out how to deal with small problems like that, but…"

"They're just too busy looking at the bigger picture," he agreed.

"Likely," Scott nodded.

"So, what's the big plan then, hmm? Are you going to keep running yourself ragged with all the sports now? Or can you get both of the boys to be in one place for more than ten minutes?"

Scott started to laugh at the suggestion. "James lasted _one _practice."

"He doesn't look like the kind to give up that quick," Toby said.

"It wasn't that he gave up," Scott clarified. "But he disagreed with the coach's style and didn't like being bossed around with no explanation. If I'd let him keep going, he would have organized a revolution by the third practice."

"Did he _want _to keep going?" Toby laughed.

Scott shook his head. "I think he went to support Nate, but even people who don't know him well could tell that thirty minutes in, he was practically shouting 'this is stupid' without saying it out loud. The fact that he went rogue partway through practice and took it on himself to try and run the field on his own was just the cherry on the cake."

"That's too bad," Toby said, shaking his head. "He could use something outside of just schoolwork."

"Believe it or not, he gets to play racquetball at the tower, and he likes to surf," Scott said with a smile. "Last time we met up with my brother, he took the kids surfing, and James is a natural."

"So what you're saying is that he likes _solo _sports." Toby did a fine job of keeping his amusement controlled - but the expression on his face and the dancing light in his eyes gave away exactly how funny he thought it was.

"If you'd met his parents…" Scott shook his head. "I'm not even surprised."

"You're doing good by him," Toby said - always quick to hop onto that train of thought when the opportunity presented itself. "You've got good kids. That's your work showing through." He tipped his head slightly. "But … I have to wonder how they might act up in a few years as they get older."

Scott shook his head. "We'll see. Nate is already a handful; I don't want to think about the teenage years with him just yet. I'll go gray even faster."

"I'd imagine you'd be more concerned with how Rachel will handle things, seeing as she's almost there _now_."

"Rachel is at a school run by one of my oldest and dearest friends. She'd have to work _hard _to get away with anything I'd disapprove of," Scott said with a quiet smirk.

Toby laughed at that. "I haven't seen her in a while now. Does she still come home on the weekends? Or is she getting more independent - so far from home."

"No, she still comes home on the weekends. She's actually been bringing back stories for the boys in case they decide to go to school there too. I doubt James will, since he's pretty well past most of the curriculum, but Nate might."

"Might do them both good," Toby said. "Spend more time around kids dealing with the same things they are." He paused and drew in a deep breath. "Of course … it wouldn't hurt if they wanted to go to one of our youth nights. We're not _recruiting, _mind you, but … it's a safe place for the neighborhood kids to spend a few hours. It's _not _in the open like the block parties that I know you're all allergic to."

"You know why I don't like those parties, Toby," Scott said in a sigh.

"I know," he agreed, nodding. "I hate to see them so isolated. Though your youngest clearly has a good handle on things if he's pushing for sports."

"He was too young to understand what happened," Scott admitted. "He was old enough that he can remember his mom, sometimes, but…"

"The other two _were _old enough though," Toby said when Scott's sentiment faded. "And it shows."

"I know," Scott said. "I see it every day."

"You know, if your pretty lady friend is too busy to research, all of you are welcome to talk with me. It would be good to know where the kids stand, don't you think?" He shrugged, holding both hands out. "I'm sure she's already looked into my records or whatever, but she can look again if it makes you feel better."

"No, we already know about the college arrest when you were protesting," Scott teased.

"Then you know I can't keep my nose too far out of it forever when I know something's wrong." He leaned forward slightly. "Let me try to help."

Scott rested his chin on his hands clasped in front of him. "You know the kids flat-out refused to talk to any therapists, right?" Scott said slowly.

"After what you said happened with that nurse, I'm not surprised," Toby replied. "But I'm not saying to go down to the office. We can do this here. Just like this. It's not like I don't come by anyhow. It can just be us. No one outside of your house needs to know either way."

Scott was quiet for a long time as he considered the idea before finally, slowly, he nodded. "I can't promise anything, but I personally don't have a problem with you talking to them."

"That warms my heart," Toby said with a teasing smile.

Scott chuckled. "Hey, the fact that you know any of our story at all should tell you how much trust you've earned with me and mine."

"I can tell you - the stories the neighborhood has cooked up on how you got those scars is quite the adventure," Toby said. "Especially when your James gets dropped off by the little rotation he's got for rideshares."

"They _try _to be discreet," Scott sighed. It was the one thing he hadn't been able to do himself - managing to get all three of his kids to where they needed to be at the same time. And while Steve was alright at blending in, Clint was _not._ And while Natasha was good at spywork, she ended up only making fuel for gossip when she came by.

"In any other area? They'd probably be perfectly fine. But you've got a whole neighborhood that's gonna be watching the single dad of three _anyhow_. Add to it that all three of the kids are good-looking, too … you're going to have trouble when they get a little older, that's all I'm saying. People are paying attention and interested in getting to know them better."

"Rabbi, are you looking to find my daughter a match already?" Scott teased.

"Not this week," Toby laughed - a constant tease between them. "Ask me again next week."

Scott smiled and shook his head. "The rumors don't bother me, to tell you the truth. It's actually helpful to have them flying around."

"Of course they wouldn't bother you. Most of them think you singlehandedly saved Captain America's life somehow," Toby laughed. "I'm not going to argue with them. Neither is he, apparently."

"To hear him tell it, he still thinks he owes the old team, so of course he won't argue it."

"Are _you_ arguing it?" Toby shot back. "Because it doesn't sound like it to me!"

"I learned a long time ago not to argue with Steve," Scott said, thinking of some of the fights he'd had with the Avengers when he'd been trying to get them to see how bad things were for mutants when all the Avengers cared about was the _way _mutants stood up for themselves.

"When you were right and _Steve _finally admitted it, you mean," Toby said just before there was a knock on the door.

Scott smirked but didn't confirm Toby's assessment either way as he went to the door, somehow not surprised to find one of his neighbors there - one of the women his age, and a widow herself, so she was always sympathetic. "Hello, Sara," he said.

"I just thought I'd check in and see how you were doing," Sara said. "I know the new semester started up, and I didn't know if you'd gotten the boys gathered up or not yet."

"They're doing great, thanks for asking. Nate's going out for soccer, and James has a new science project that's consuming his attention already."

"Oh, good," Sara said, smiling widely. "I hope they can get the time to spend an afternoon with the kids this weekend. Rebecca would love to see them, I know."

Scott smirked, knowing Sara's daughter had a crush on Nate and that Nate was completely oblivious. "We'll see. You know Rachel comes home on the weekends, so we try to dedicate that time to being all together."

"Yes, and it's wonderful that you're all so close," she said - absolutely genuine with every word. "Of course, you're all welcome to join us, if you haven't got anything set in stone."

"Thanks. I'll talk to the boys and Rachel and see what they had in mind and let you know," Scott promised.

Sara smiled wider. "Alright, well, you take care of yourself until then," she said. "Tell the boys I said hello."

"I will," Scott promised - and didn't wait longer than it took for Sara to be out of earshot from the door before he turned toward the kitchen. "Not a word, Toby."

"What would I say?" Toby asked, doing his best to look innocent. "I'm just here, temporarily deaf … enjoying my morning."

Scott shook his head, though he couldn't help but smirk. "Sure."

"It's not like she's _available_ or _interested_," Toby said, shaking his head.

"Toby…"

"I said 'it's not' …" He shook his head more insistently.

Scott chuckled and then picked up Toby's empty cup. "I think I need to go research coaches. You can play matchmaker somewhere else."

"You just tell me when I should come by to talk to those kids," Toby said. "One at a time, if you think we can't gather them up."

"I'll let you know," Scott promised.

"Then I wish you luck in your searches," Toby said as he got to his feet. "Incidentally - if you tell me who you're looking into, I can maybe give you what the word is from the neighborhood too."

"You know what? I'd really appreciate that."

* * *

Rabbi Cohen didn't have too long to wait for his opportunity. A few weeks passed, sure, but it was easy enough for him to see that Scott wasn't blowing him off when the day-to-day schedule was organized chaos - even with just the boys home. Early in the morning, Scott had to get Nate off to school - and since his school was in an entirely different area of Brooklyn, Scott took him there himself - at just about the time that James' ride came by to pick him up and take him to Manhattan, where he'd study and work on …. Lord only knew what. That was something that Scott had never been overly specific about.

From there, the house was mostly vacant until after school when, once again, Scott would get Nate … and a few hours later, someone would roll up to drop James off. At least, that was the _normal _schedule.

Toby was over for a lovely mid-morning coffee with Scott, as usual, when the lock in the front door rattled and James let himself in.

"What happened?" Scott asked, on his feet in a heartbeat and already on his way toward him - ready to check him over for injury, which James didn't fight him on at all.

"Ah ... " James glanced over at the rabbi and censored the details out entirely. "Power's out in the building and half the block - and the back ups aren't working very well, so … I got sent home until they fix it." He set his bag down and slipped his shoes off at the door as he let Scott look him over. As soon as Scott was momentarily satisfied, the two of them started back toward the kitchen, though Scott was wearing a frown as he walked behind James, steering him to the kitchen with one hand on his shoulder. "Hi, Rabbi Cohen," James said with a little wave, then quietly took the seat Scott pointed at.

"What happened with the power?" Toby asked - mostly to see if James would share. "And am I going to read about it in the Daily Bugle tomorrow?"

"Maybe." James replied slowly, though he seemed to almost shrink in on himself in the chair. "They told me it was a bad experiment."

"Was it yours?" Toby asked, trying to tease him, but James was perfectly serious as he shook his head.

"No, my stuff is on an independent power source," James said, tipping his head down. "Less chance of it causing trouble if I screw up. I think it was something with my afternoon tutor." He looked toward Scott with a significant expression. "He tried to call, but communications are down too. They were scrambling to fix it when they sent me home." He slid his cell phone to Scott. "So I need to fix mine, too. I heard something about reversed polarities, so it shouldn't be a big deal, unless i damaged circuits."

"Then maybe you can take a few minutes to tell me about what you're doing up in that big tower?" Toby said warmly.

"O-kay." James nodded as soon as he saw the look on Scott's face - they'd discussed this as a possibility, and James knew that Scott wouldn't have brought it up unless he wanted them to do it, so … he drew in a breath and started to try and explain what he did. "It's really just tutors," James said uncertainly. "There isn't much to tell."

As soon as James was trying to halfway answer Toby's questions, Scott got up to leave them to chat while he dug into what happened at Avengers Tower to shut the place down.

He didn't have to search too hard for answers either, as there was a text from Stark explaining that they were still investigating matters, but it looked like it had been an attempt on _his _life. Nothing that they'd found so far, including going through the creep's communications and correspondence or any of the taps Tony used to dig into the guy's connections, showed that they had _any _idea that James was there … which at least meant that the image inducer he was using to go in and out of the building was doing its job.

But it also meant that for James' studies to continue - as a matter of paranoid security - they would have to happen either from the Baxter building or Clint's apartment building for the next week or so until Tony had given Natasha a chance to chase down every possible concern. It would screw up the usual flow for Scott and his boys, but … it also showed Scott exactly how paranoid Tony was being on James' behalf. Not that he was surprised. James had a standing open invitation from Tony to simply _stay _there if he wanted or needed to, and it was clear the more time James spent with his tutors and with Tony that he was getting more and more attached. And lamenting not having simply _kept _him instead of letting Scott take him back after he'd spent months with the kid.

And with a few hours to kill before Scott had to be at the field to pick up Nate from soccer practice and while James was tied up talking to Toby, Scott decided his time was best spent _helping _dig in to what was known and what wasn't about the attack on the tower.

He already knew that Tony was going to shift the tutor to the Baxter building - if nothing else than to keep the trouble _out _of Brooklyn and in close reach of a large contingency of superheroes that could dive in to help. And … it didn't hurt that James and Franklin Richards got along well enough. Though, Scott had to wonder what would happen if the two boys got competitive.


	21. Group Session

**Chapter 21 - Group Session**

* * *

Toby Cohen had spent a little over a month taking little opportunities to chat with the Meuller kids next door. They were going by "Meuller," but Rabbi Cohen knew that it was the Summers family, not the Meullers. And only three of them were Summers by name, the fourth - well. It would be unfair to say that the rabbi wasn't worried about all four of them, but some of the behavior he was seeing from their odd man out _did _have him watching even more carefully. He just didn't know how to explain to Scott what he was seeing without alarming him unnecessarily. And with Scott's stress levels, that was an entirely new level of balancing act.

James was, by all accounts, a _good kid_. And to the untrained eye, he was more than just a good one. He was _easy_. He didn't rebel against his family, and he seemed to approach everything with an attitude of quiet gratefulness that most people aspired to. However, it was the fact that James was totally unwilling to even consider going against the grain his family had established. And his motives as to _why _that was so were of deep concern to the Rabbi. In the time that the Meullers had lived in the neighborhood, not _once _had Rabbi Cohen heard a complaint about the dark-haired boy. Not only from the family, but the people in the neighborhood too. In fact, if he was going to analyze it, it seemed to him as if James was constantly conscious of everyone around him, always testing the waters of his family before saying or doing anything - purposely avoiding any topic that might upset his adoptive dad in particular. he was polite to a degree that Rabbi Cohen simply didn't see in kids his age - even in the strictest of families, and he knew that wasn't the case in Scott's house. The other two kids had little trouble rocking the boat with their father - even if it was minimal, they didn't seem to be purposely avoiding it like James was.

But Toby had been around for a few dinners with the family now - and though all the kids paid attention to the conversation, James was consistently quiet unless asked a direct question. Always. And when he did answer, it was always with the most direct answer that used as few words as possible. Which was intriguing since the boy was a genius.

Rachel … Rachel had clearly tried to do all her growing up at once. She seemed to be trying to take care of her father and her brothers - though James was careful to keep from being a bother to her, too. She had a kind of anxiety just behind her eyes that Toby couldn't quite put his finger on - but it was the kind of thing that was universally something that needed outside help to keep from blossoming out of control.

And Nate? Nate was the little rebel out of the three of them in the most amusingly normal way ever. Where else would you find a little boy that was arguing by wanting to be like everyone else? While Rachel was content to be a small adult and watch out for who she could and James was trying to blend in with the furniture as far as neediness went, Nate just wanted to be a kid.

There were three very different problems happening at the Mueller house. Every one of them needed a different approach. And every one of them was worrisome if left unchecked. Yes, Scott was the picture perfect father - and Toby knew he had the ulcers to back it up - but that didn't change the fact that there was no way for the Summers kids to avoid the numbers when it came to _risk_. For Nate and Rachel, having lost their mother so young was the gateway to anxiety and mood disorders right off the bat. Especially since Scott had obviously suffered from the same trouble himself.

What he didn't know how to explain was the fact that _Nate _was at a higher risk for those troubles than Rachel was. It was something that even the most involved experts didn't quite understand yet, but it was an issue. The younger they were at the time of the loss, the more likely they'd have attachment issues, depression, or anxiety. Substance abuse issues and eating disorders weren't off the table, either. And while James was at risk for all of the same, the fact that he'd lost both of his parents and was showing signs of trying to fly under the radar _at his age_ to avoid conflict had the rabbi concerned that if the pattern continued, he'd keep tipping his risk factors closer and closer to self-harm and suicide.

And that was without knowing any of the fine details on _how _the kids had lost their parents. Extended trauma the kids might have suffered, or how much they knew of how their lost parents were killed … all of it factored in, and none of it was easy to discuss. Had he known the details on what had happened to them - and what James had been there to witness, he would have been _much _more alarmed for _all _of them.

The lone glowing beacon of hope in the whole mess was how absolutely dedicated Scott was to those three kids. It was obvious he'd put his life on hold so he could be there for them at the drop of a hat. Toby had seen him interacting with the three of them. It was obvious that Scott knew where they kids were coming from, emotionally. And he knew how to support them and how to be there even if they looked like they didn't want it. That … that was the one thing that made Toby think the kids had a solid chance at being alright. _If _their issues were addressed and the downward spiral was stopped before it became a tailspin.

But Toby wasn't sure of the best way to approach Scott with his concerns. Especially when some of the reasoning the kids were showing was a double-edged sword. Rachel had to take care of her father and brother because they were both so stressed out and needed someone to watch out for them … while ignoring that what she was trying to give them was exactly what _she _needed.

Nate was trying to be the normal that the mutant family was pretending to be - by embracing it as fully as he could - and not realizing that he was almost making fun of how 'normal' he could pretend to be, even while he was spectacularly ahead of the curve in cleverness.

And how should he break it to Scott that his adoptive son absolutely hated when anyone called him 'lucky' for his family and his private studies because if he was lucky to have it, then his luck could run out - and that if the people in his life thought he was special and had picked him, it was just as possible for them to change their mind? It was just the tip of the iceberg with James, and the kid had been quick to shut down and get quiet when he thought he might have said something that would eventually upset Scott. Toby wouldn't even have been surprised if James had read up on psychology just to protect himself from the therapy that Toby was trying to help him with.

So Toby waited until he knew that the kids were going to be at their respective schools and that Scott would be free for a long while that day before he came over with coffee for both of them from the cafe down at the corner.

"I know you don't want to leave anything laying around for the kids to read," Toby said in a softer, more somber tone than what Scott was used to hearing from him. "So you're going to want to read the email I just sent you when they're not around. It's not about them specifically - but it is an outline of what I'm concerned with for each of them. And it's also a strong suggestion that you get them professional help sooner than later. If they can't trust a doctor, you know I'm more than happy to help, but they _do _need the help."

Toby set the cup of coffee down next to Scott and took a seat. "I can stay here while you read if you have questions, or you can call me once you get through it. But, if it's all the same, I'd rather be here with you for clarity."

Scott didn't hesitate to open his computer and open up the email. He was completely silent as he read through what Toby had written, though Toby could see a muscle in his jaw getting tighter and tighter until he finally sat back in the chair and let out a breath. "I'll… talk to them," he said at last.

"And do what?" Toby asked, honestly not surprised at Scott's first reaction. "You're already doing all you can."

"Obviously not," Scott said, gesturing to the email with one hand.

"Scott, this isn't from anything you did or didn't do," Toby said. "This is just their way of coping. And they need help learning new methods."

"Then, yes, if you'd be willing… I can't even get Rachel to _think _about a doctor, let alone the boys…"

"Of course I'm willing," Toby said.

"And… if you're not opposed, I'd like to forward this to a friend of mine. A telepath at Rachel's school. She could help too," Scott said, obviously working out a plan for himself to move forward as a back up if he couldn't get the kids to go along with Toby.

"Do with it whatever you will," Toby said. "I just thought that would be the easiest way to outline what I'm seeing and a good way for you to be able to go back _if you want to_ later..."

"I'll talk to the kids, too," Scott said. "James needs to know … and God, Rachel's doing the same thing _I _did.."

"Apple didn't fall far, did it?"

"For any of them. You should have met Jean when we were young."

"From the sounds of it, you just need to point to which kid is most like her, and I'll try to imagine," Toby teased.

"You could look at either Rachel or Nate, depending on the day," Scott said with a fond smile at the corner of his mouth. "She wanted desperately to be normal when I first met her… but she couldn't help trying to nose into others' business to _help_, either."

"I like her already," Toby said, perfectly straight-faced. "Just think of the team-up we could have run on _you_." Toby reached over to rest his hand on Scott's arm. "I meant what I said before, too, Scott. Every one of those kids of yours is an absolute _gem_. Best kids around. I just don't want to see them lost in their own heads or to get too carried away with bad choices if it comes up. They're not the tiny adults they _think _they are."

Scott was quiet for a long time before he let out a soft sound from the back of his throat. "I could use the help," he said at last, thinking through his next words before he said, "Look, not many people know this, so don't spread it around, but I honestly don't remember much between the ages of ten and sixteen. This age… I'm flying blind."

Toby frowned and nodded, agreeing to it before fully grasping how literal Scott was being in the moment. "Is that a circumstances thing, a 'it's so long ago' thing, or just a matter of not being able to visualize where your head was?"

"Evil telepath," Scott said simply.

"Oh, sure," Toby said. "Should have known."

Scott smirked lightly. "I think if you'd known the X-Men in our prime, you'd know that's not even the strangest thing we dealt with."

"I assumed that it had to get wilder for as casually as you said the words 'evil telepath'."

"Yeah, believe it or not, that's the _mild _description."

"I believe it," Toby assured him. "So … how do you want to move forward? Talk to the kids first? Then we can try to make it happen slow and easy? I know it won't be a simple matter of making an appointment. As soon as James thought something was off … your daughter, too. They got quiet fast and stayed that way."

"Why don't you let me talk to them, let me explain what I told you about this particular age not being my forte… I think, from what you've told me, if they think it's helping me…"

"Seeing a bit of yourself in some of what I gave you on them?" Toby asked gently.

"Hey, I'd be surprised if I didn't."

"Not a criticism, my friend. I didn't say there was anything _wrong _with you." He got to his feet and brushed himself off - not that there was anything to brush. "Let me know when we start. Otherwise, good luck."

* * *

Scott took a few days to weigh out all that Toby had said to him - and to try to find a way to relay all of that to the kids. But before he could sit down to discus things, his usual routine was interrupted when he got a phonecall from Ororo - requesting that he make his way out to Westchester at his earliest convenience.

It wasn't a huge problem. But when he heard the tone in Ororo's voice, he switched gears quickly and made a phone call to Clint to see if he could take Nate home with Katie for a few hours if he didn't get back before the soccer game was over. He knew Nate wanted to spend time there anyhow, and once Clint heard there was a possible issue with Rachel, he not only agreed to take Nate, but he promised to have Natasha bring James home, too.

So without anything holding him back, Scott grabbed his keys, locked up and started the drive to Westchester. Nothing seemed out of place when he got there and the kids outside were in fine moods, enjoying a sunny day. So he wasn't sure how to process things when Ororo gave him a perfectly flat, serious look before leading him to her office where Rachel was bright red at the cheeks and waiting for him. "I'll give you two a moment," Ororo said, closing the door to give Rachel a chance to fess up to her father.

Scott paused and raised an eyebrow before Rachel let it out in a rush. "It was supposed to be a date, and I _know _you think I'm too young, but I also know that you'll say that when I'm 40, but it wasn't a big deal until he _got … stupid!_"

"What happened then?"

"I punched him," Rachel said, blushing brighter, somehow.

She didn't expect him to nod to himself with a quiet 'okay then' before he opened the door for Ororo to come back. The room was tense with silence as Ororo returned and took her seat at the desk, only looking up at Scott once she was comfortable.

"Scott, I'm sure you could have guessed that this was going to be an issue sooner or later," Ororo said to Scott as he took a seat next to Rachel - and across from Ororo. "And it's not that I think she should accept it, of course. But perhaps the next time this issue presents itself, you shouldn't retaliate for _just _a thought."

Rachel's shoulders were shrugged up to her ears - not because she thought she was wrong - of course she wasn't. She just felt badly about her Dad being pulled out of his usual routine to deal with something so monumentally _stupid_. And she was _not _the Summers kid to get phone calls over. That was _Nate_. This? This had to be the single most embarrassing thing that had ever happened to her. Ever. And that included when she caught Betsy and Angel making out. That … She blushed just thinking of it - and found herself desperately trying _not _to think of it.

"Did she tell you what happened, Scott?" Ororo asked with the most clear cat who caught the canary look that Scott had seen in _ages_. "I'd assume that it would either be a point of contention or one of pride. Perhaps both."

"Just that the guy deserved it," Scott said, trying not to smirk at Rachel's description, since he had been the one to teach her how to deal with guys that tried to push her or got too handsy.

"Scott, all he actually did was kiss her good night," Ororo said, though she was barely doing a better job than Scott at controlling her smile. "And that's not an offense that is paid back by doing what she did."

Scott turned toward Rachel, one eyebrow raised. "Rach…"

"You don't know what he was _thinking_, Dad," Rachel insisted, blushing high on her cheeks.

Scott let out a breath and rubbed his eyes. "Rachel…" He shook his head, still rubbing his eyes, before he finally looked at her again. "It's only the guys who _act _on it that deserve to get laid out like that."

"But he was _thinking it_." Rachel stared at him wide-eyed. "Loudly!"

"Yeah, I'm sure he was," Scott said, holding her gaze steadily. "Every teenage boy does. It's the ones who keep it to _thoughts _that matter. The ones who push? Destroy 'em."

"_But Dad._"

Scott smirked and leaned forward. "Okay, Rach. What were _you _thinking?"

"I was thinking it had been a nice date until he got all super-perv on me!"

"Did you kiss him first or did he initiate?"

She paused and thought about it for a moment. "What difference does it make?"

Scott smirked. "I'm just wondering if you even wanted to kiss him…"

Rachel blushed deeply as she turned his way. "If you try to say that this is my fault that he can't keep his _mind out of the gutter_-"

"No, obviously not. I'm just pointing out that you were ready to be physical too, and he was only thinking about the future."

"But just a kiss! Not - _ugh!_"

Scott let out a breath and leaned back in his chair. "He let the kiss end when you wanted it to?"

Rachel sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Yes."

"So he was just thinking about how he'd like things to go down the road?"

"Like a pervert."

"Rach…" Scott sighed and rubbed his hand over his face.

"They can't possibly think like that about everyone _all the time_."

"God, if your mother was here, she'd be laughing," Scott muttered.

Ororo had by that time, turned partly away from them and had one hand over her mouth to hide the feeble attempt at avoiding outright laughter. Especially since her shoulders were shaking from silent giggles.

"You're no help, 'Ro," Scott shot her way.

"She's thinking like a rational reasonable person, Scott," Ororo managed, though she was grinning broadly. "They can't possibly think like that all the time, can they?"

"Dammit, 'Ro."

Ororo gestured broadly. "I'm not a telepath, Scott. I cannot answer that with any _true _knowledge."

"_Dammit_, 'Ro."

Ororo entwined her fingers and rested them on her crossed knees. "Yes, Scott? I was under the impression that you'd have some wisdom to give your sweet daughter on this matter."

Scott gave her the driest look he could before he sighed and turned back to Rachel. "Look, what I told you about boys… all of that's true. If they start pushing you, deck them. But-" He sighed. "-look, you can't punish them for their thoughts. Lord knows your mother didn't do that to me or I'd be dead a hundred times over."

"_Dad_."

Scott smirked lightly. "What, did you think you sprang up from the ground fully formed?"

"I would like to think so!" Rachel almost shouted back.

"So you're telling me that when Jan and I were dating, you didn't pick up on _any _of that…"

Rachel glared at him. "First of all - _no_ because you had the decency not to _broadcast it._" She drew herself up. "Or did you _want me to know _what you were up to?"

"I'm just saying: you're old enough to date now. That means you need to learn how to differentiate between what boys would _like _to do and what they are _actually _doing or planning."

She crossed her arms again and slouched in her chair. "I know what I'm gonna do …"

"Rachel."

"What?" She smirked. "I didn't _do _anything. I'm just _thinking it._"

"Well, now you sound like your mother, so I know you'll be _fine_."

By that time, Ororo was laughing outright. "Yes, I think she will be," Ororo said, wiping tears from her eyes. When she got a little better control of herself she turned to Rachel with a grin. "Off the record? I agree with you. They should keep their minds out of the gutter. If at all possible." She looked back to Scott. "If only they could discover how to do that at some point in their lives after they reach puberty, all the world would be more relaxed."

Scott gestured to Ororo with a smirk. "You saw my rebound taste. I'm no good for this talk."

"Yes. Every one of your rebounds," Ororo shot back.

"Then if you girls have things under control…"

"Yes, I think we should further discuss this in Salem Center, Rachel," Ororo said. "My treat."


	22. Spring Is In The Air, Apparently

**JD - yeah. Everyone has thoughts that can be disturbing, but there is a difference between just thinking it and concentrating on it enough to be projecting - and a hyper fixated boy with a pretty girl would be projecting. There have already been a few instances of Rachel getting backlash - hell, when she first started up, she was upset when it was DAD panicking about everything and we KNOW he's got some amazing psychic blocks in place. But ... moment of weakness/panic. It happens. I don't think anything would be more upsetting to her than THAT. Yet ... fun stuff ahead for Miss Rachel Summers ... As for the others ... well ...**

* * *

**Chapter 22 - Spring Is In The Air, Apparently**

* * *

Scott shook his head to himself most of the way back to the city after that little meeting with Ororo and Rachel. He couldn't believe that Ororo had managed to make him _defend _the boy that kissed his little girl. But it hadn't taken all afternoon. And he had time to find a way to laugh about it during his drive. By the time Scott managed to get to the soccer fields where Nate was playing, the first games were already underway, and the sounds of referees blowing whistles on one field or another were easy to hear even from the road.

Rabbi Cohen was watching the games from the sidelines - having promised to show up for the game on behalf of several kids on the field. Nate had yet to take the field, but he was nearly bouncing in place waiting on his turn. When he saw Scott, though, Nate lit up like Christmas morning and waved enthusiastically at his dad.

It was a relief, frankly. After dealing with the uncomfortable situation with Rachel … and having the whole drive back to the city to mull it over ... an enthusiastic Nate was the _perfect _break. Scott raised one hand in a muted wave - which was all Nate needed to puff his chest out and bounce in place - chomping at the bit to get out there and show off for his dad now that he was there.

"Everything okay with Rachel?" Toby asked as Scott stood next to him.

"Yeah … she took offense to a boy's thought process, that's all."

"Good for her," Toby said, nodding, though Scott was smirking and shaking his head at Toby's obvious misinterpretation.

"I'll tell you about it later," Scott said, his focus on Nate.

Toby did a little double-take. "Oh. _Oh_," Toby said, made a face, and then turned back to Scott. "Oh, that poor girl. You mean she hears …." Scott raised an eyebrow at him as he turned to face him. "... all the time?"

"Only if they're loud about it, so … yeah, I'd bet most of the time," Scott said, to which Toby made a noise at the back of his throat.

"It'll be a miracle if she ever dates a boy seriously," Toby said, shaking his head at all of it. "Poor girl … I mean, I know they all have to suspect how boys think, but still …"

"If it's all the same to you, Toby, I'd like to just … try not to think about that too much. Especially considering that one of my oldest and dearest friends is _far _too entertained by all of it and has punished her by taking her out for ice cream."

"How is that a punishment?"

Scott sighed. "It's not. At all."

Toby chuckled to himself but didn't comment further as the game got underway - likely trying to think about what Rachel might or might not have 'heard'.

Nate was doing well right out of the gate, running fast and scoring and assisting with just about every play he was involved in. All while grinning broadly. It was even better, then, when, on the second game he played, he was squaring off with Katie.

Katie had her hair pulled back in pigtails and was also bouncing in place. "You gonna cry if you get your butt kicked by a _girl_?" she teased Nate.

"You gonna cry if you get your butt kicked by a _boy_?"

"No!"

"Exactly!"

The first few plays were _rough, _and it was pretty clear that they were well matched - for now. But … as soon as the whistle blew, it was _on_, and Katie wasn't taking any prisoners as she flat out ran Nate over. He got up quickly and gave chase, and the two of them fought hard - more or less ignoring their _teams _as they concentrated on trying to beat each other first and foremost.

The ball went back and forth - and both teams were scoring - and every goal was accented by one or the other doing their best 'in your face' that had been recorded in kids that age. But during the final showdown, Katie was more than ready to _go_, and she zipped past him, leaving Nate not only stunned but determined not to let it stand, either.

Which meant the kiddie soccer game was getting far more cutthroat than either kid's coach was prepared for.

Nate had just caught up to Katie and was running level with her, but as soon as he pulled ahead enough that he could kick the ball away from her, she faked him out, dribbling the ball backwards so it was behind her feet and Nate kicked air instead - with enough force that he went flying.

Katie burst out giggling and then ran with the opportunity, all while Scott could see _exactly _what words Nate was muttering through mouthfuls of dirt and was _not _happy about it.

Nate brushed himself off and went back into the game, though much more sullen and less smiley than before. But time was running out - and he was more determined to keep from letting her get another goal in, even if neither team scored again. He was angry with himself for not seeing the set-up as Katie pulled it - and more angry with himself, once the game was over, that he let it mess with his gameplay after the fact.

He was just getting a good scowl on when Katie bounced over with a grin. "Good game," she said before she very quickly kissed his cheek and then headed back for Clint, leaving Nate staring after her and Scott shaking his head with a grin.

"We need to have a word about your boy," a deep and rich voice said - from just behind Scott - and the angle was such that he knew without turning that this guy was _big _and tall.

It was such a shock that Scott's first reaction was to take a defensive stance, though he also switched the visual on the bionic eyes Stark had given him to scan for anyone else in the area and to quickly realize that at least this guy was alone.

Though when he turned to see Luke Cage, he almost repeated Nate's words - which would have only cemented the kid's problem - before he caught himself. "Give a man a heart attack."

"All I've done so far is say hello," Luke defended with his arms crossed. "But like I said: we need to talk. And I came all the way out here from Harlem to do just that. Your business if you go and have a heart attack about it."

Scott shook his head. "Whatever Nate did-"

"Wrong boy."

"Seriously?" Scott straightened up. "What did _James _do?"

"You mean aside from kissing my daughter?" Luke asked - a little louder than he'd honestly meant to. "She was _supposed _to be getting help with her little science project, but if this is what your boy considers _help_..."

"...what?" Scott couldn't come up with a better response. James had _never _gotten into trouble, and he hadn't even seemed _interested _in flirting with any of the girls in the neighborhood… Scott shook his head as he thought about it - and realized that even if he wasn't flirting with the neighborhood girls, all of the Avengers that had kids close to his age were bringing them to the tower - and at one point or another, _most _of them were going to him for tutoring help.

Jessica Jones was laughing a few paces behind Luke, and Dani was behind her, arms crossed and not looking amused one bit. All the while, Jessica had one hand over her mouth to keep it from bubbling out too much, but still … "I told him it was her idea," she said, with Dani echoing 'it was!' before Dani shook her head and ran off to hear how the game went for Katie. "But Luke can't seem to believe his sweet little girl would take the initiative. No idea how he got so delusional."

Scott spared her a smirk but was still shaking his head. "Did you ask Dani what the story was?" he asked Luke. "Because James doesn't get into trouble. He just doesn't."

"I didn't come down here to get redirected on how angelic you think your kid is," Luke said. "I _came down here _to make sure you knew that your _boy _is on notice."

"He didn't ask Dani _or _James," Jessica said, cutting over him. "Dani told him what happened; he's gone deaf to anything like common sense."

Scott shook his head. "It's just that kind of day," he muttered.

"What else happened?" Jessica asked. "Because now I'm curious." She tipped her head to where Dani and Katie were cackling with laughter next to a grinning Clint.

"Rachel decked a boy."

Luke gestured openly. "See. That's how it's _supposed _to work. Boys bein' fresh get laid _out_."

Jessica narrowed her eyes and tipped her chin up at Luke. "Sure about that?" But Luke just nodded, looking as serious as he was able, so Jessica turned back to Scott. "Anyhow. I wasn't going to let him come down here and start anything that didn't need to be started. James is fine. He didn't do anything wrong except, you know …be a boy and breathe."

"I didn't think he would," Scott said. "I taught my kids right." He tipped his head toward the soccer field. "And, apparently, they keep attracting girls who kiss first. Or did you miss Katie and Nate over there?"

"Yeah, but that's the new Hawkeye," Luke said with an ill-hidden laugh. "Bumps and bruises and everything that goes with it."

"They're getting kissed because they're _good _boys," Jessica said.

Scott gestured to Jessica with one hand. "They are. And they know what I expect of them. And they have a telepathic sister who would send them into next week if they even _thought _otherwise," he added, leaving out the part where James wasn't exactly open to Rachel all the time.

"You just tell that little troublemaker that I'm keeping an eye on him," Luke said, looking perfectly serious as he pointed at Scott. "And there won't be any more one-on-one tutoring sessions."

"Fine by me. You tell your daughter to make sure he _wants_ to kiss her if she wants another one."

Jessica snorted at that. "He wasn't complaining," she said as she pulled on Luke. "Leave him alone. He got your stupid macho message." As she passed Clint by, and they caught up with Dani, Jessica raised a hand to wave - then loudly called out "Oh wow! Is that Iron Fist?" just to irk Clint, which at least had Luke in a better mood. Even as Scott's smile fell completely.

"Shut up, Jessica," Clint called back.

"No way to talk to your adoring fans, _Iron Fist_."

"I hate you, you know that?"

Jessica turned with a huge grin and blew a kiss as she walked backward. "Right back atcha, big guy. See you at work."

"Are you okay with all … whatever it is that just happened?" Toby asked as Clint and Jessica traded a few last snipes back and forth. "Because I kinda think I could use a drink."

Scott finally relaxed slightly and rubbed his eyes. "The kids being kids part? Yes. The Avengers going back and forth with me at a public game? I'll need to get back to you on that. And possibly spend a few days elsewhere." With that, and with a heavy sigh, he turned to go gather up his youngest.

Just a few hours passed after Scott and Nate got home when James came in with Steve - though Steve was wearing an inducer, which was new. As soon as the door was closed behind them, Steve flipped it off and called out to Scott. "It's already being handled, by the way. The _Luke and Jessica _thing."

"You came here in an inducer to tell me you're handling my son's love life?" Scott asked dryly, even though he was actively sweeping the neighborhood with long-range scanners from where he sat.

"Didn't want to draw any more attention in case people were looking for Avengers," Steve said. "And it's not about his love life. It's about a noisy security breach." He looked down at James, who looked like he was ready to pack up and move again, since this broke all the usual ways of dealing with things. "So you know, James didn't do a thing wrong."

"Oh, I didn't think he did," Scott promised, even going so far as to pause his scan to smile James' way. "She kissed you, huh? Nice."

James dropped his bookbag by the door. "Not my idea," he swore. "But I'm not dumb enough to tell her no, either."

"You can if you don't want her kissing you," Scott pointed out. "But…"

"She's cute," James said with a shrug and an understated, crooked smirk.

Scott smiled. "She is. And she must have noticed you're just as good-looking, kiddo. Good taste, that one."

James scrunched up his nose. "Yeah, okay. Su-ure."

Scott got to his feet and squeezed James' shoulder on the way past before he gestured for Steve to follow him to the living room. "I did a scan at the soccer game after Luke showed up, and no one in the _immediate _area was suspicious, but the gossip is going to spread."

"Clint was swearing up a storm, in case you missed it," Steve said. "He said Natasha was on the move before Luke opened his mouth."

"I noticed, yeah," Scott said with a small smirk.

"Luke honestly thought you were settled and not hiding - Jessica, too," Steve said. "For what it's worth."

"Sounds like you need to remind your team the reality on the ground for mutants," Scott said, his eyes narrowed. "It's better, not genocidal, but…"

Steve nodded. "Already done. And Luke is ticked off at himself. Jessica is … well. Jessica. It was a fluke thing on his part, and I'm sure if Natasha and Tony hadn't both chewed him out about how he approached initially, he'd be apologizing for throwing a monkey wrench in the works."

"Good. Then he can help deal with the fallout if there is an issue."

"He already volunteered to," Steve agreed.

Scott nodded once and then, simply because he could understand it, relaxed his stance slightly. "I get it, though. My daughter's dating now, too. I get it."

"I'm sure you do," Steve said. "And between you and me, Jessica had a talk with Dani about _warning _a person before kissing them."

Scott nodded. "It's just something about my boys. Katie kissed Nate's cheek after she made him eat dirt at the soccer game. It's just that kind of day, apparently."

"All three, huh?" Steve asked with a crooked smile. "I heard about Rachel from Storm."

"You didn't see the sudden gray streak in my hair?" Scott asked with a light smirk.

"Don't know if it'll help or hurt, but even if James wasn't expecting it - kid _ran _with it. You know who to blame." He was grinning as he looked toward James, who was headed up the stairs.

"Not even surprised," Scott said, shaking his head with a smile at the very corner of his mouth.

"Call if you have any trouble, huh? I'll let you know if we see anything out of the norm at all."

"Will do," Scott promised. "And Steve?" He let his shoulders drop. "Thanks."

"Sure thing. I'll keep the inducer for pick-ups - and it'll be me for a while. Until we know for sure."

"Alright. I'll make sure James knows what's up."


	23. The Affairs of Teenagers

**Chapter 23 - The Affairs of Teenagers**

* * *

As it turned out, Tony went out of his way to ensure that his little genius was well protected. Security breaches on the whole were down dramatically, even considering the company's reasonably good record in the field. With James there - and Scott's concerns well known with those in charge, they went above and beyond to keep the boy and his family safe - and secret from the public at large, which was quite the feat when James was coming and going in an image inducer for years. It also became more important as he got older since the older he got, the more he resembled Logan, and even if the old man had been dead for years, that didn't mean that his face wasn't well known enough to be forgotten.

But all of that found its own way of leveling out. And Scott found himself far more engaged with their every day activities. James tried to be on autopilot as much as possible to streamline his own schedule and to keep from upsetting anyone else's. He also started staying in the city longer every day after the 'school day' was over. Rachel was making leaps and bounds at school and even mentoring some of the younger kids that came in with mental prowess that they needed to master … and Nate was still doing his best to break records in every sport he ever took half an interest in, cementing that the Summers competitive nature was alive and well in the new generation.

More fun than that, though, was the kids' personal lives. The little romantic entanglements of the Summers kids continued to be varying degrees of problematic, entertaining, and flat out sweet for Scott to watch over the last couple of years since 'the day of many kisses', as Clint was calling it. Rachel had the same draw that her mother did - and always seemed to have a handful of boys tripping over themselves to try and charm her, though rarely did she bother allowing them to do so. Not when she already knew what they were thinking. Anyone who actively thought like any _normal _teenage boy was disqualified immediately - and often with no small amount of disappointment from _Rachel_. Especially when it was someone she thought was particularly good-looking or otherwise nice.

She simply couldn't stand that outlook, even if she was now sixteen years old and really wanting to go on dates with her friends now that she could drive. But … that didn't overrule her own personal codes and morals, and boys who only had sex on the brain were absolutely off limits. Not only because the objectification made her feel gross but because she really didn't want her dad to have a heart attack any time soon. He was having enough trouble with James and Nate to expect him to survive his daughter getting involved with questionable boys.

James' issues stemmed from his uncanny knack of finding _new _dates every few months - half of whom were the offspring of someone in the Avengers' orbit. Scott still wasn't sure how the kid was _meeting _the ones that weren't at the tower, though, so that was a slightly different and less controlled situation than what he was used to seeing around the young man. Which was really where the trouble was.

At thirteen, James wasn't quite old enough to be _trouble _on the dating front - even if he _looked _a few years older. Until rather recently, the most he was after was someone to watch movies with and steal kisses, but with unverified girls that hadn't been through Natasha's strict screening process…

Scott hated to think that someone would use a teenage girl to go after the kid, but he knew it wasn't outside of the realm of possibility, so he was on alert with everyone Natasha, Clint, Tony, and his own kids told him James was meeting up with _outside _of the tower.

Then there was Nate.

Nate had been pushing harder and harder in sports from the moment he'd gotten involved in them. Which was fine, and lined up with his competitive nature. Scott certainly couldn't fault him for that. But ...he'd gone a little too far during a hockey game and ended up with a broken collar bone and was sure he was slowly dying because of it - _and _because of the fact that he'd _just _transferred to the Institute in Westchester with Rachel. It was a double hit for Nate. Not only was he out of the game for the rest of the league's season and missing tryouts for the next sports season, but he was separated from Katie for the first time since they'd moved to the city.

He still got to see Katie on the weekends when he and Rachel came home or mid-week occasionally when she'd come to spend time with a few of the kids at the institute, but … it wasn't as much fun for him at school, and he was working _hard _to get better control so he could go back to public school.

But that left Scott alone all week with James - and James was increasingly concerned that Scott wasn't going to be able to make it so far from Rachel and Nate. The two of them had just gone back upstate for the week, and like they did every week, James went along with him to drop Nate and Rachel off, feeling like a third wheel in an otherwise well-balanced machine. The drives back to the city were always quiet - and James had noticed on more than a few occasions that Scott's attention would be drawn by houses for sale within a more reasonable distance to the school. It didn't take anything at all for him to put it together … and decide on a plan of action.

"Dad?" James said quietly, unsure if it was even something he should bring up.

"Yeah?" Scott replied, half distracted just a few miles before they got on the freeway.

"You know, if you want to get rid of the place in Brooklyn and move out here to be closer, I can probably just … stay with someone in the city." When Scott frowned and quickly looked his way, James tacked on another option. "Or I can quit the tutoring and stuff. I'm almost done with the last tests and I'm sure MIT can wait.."

Scott shook his head quickly. "No, no," he said. "You don't have to do anything like that. And I wouldn't leave you behind, either. You're my _son_."

"I know," James said a little softer. "But it would be easier for you if I-"

"Nate wants to get back into public school as soon as possible, and your tutoring is going _well_. Tony was just telling me last week that he's got MIT on speed dial wanting to work out a distance program for you so you don't need to leave the company. This is just a temporary thing, James," Scott assured him. "I'm trying not to uproot us. The house in Brooklyn is a good place - for all of us."

"I just know you've been going nuts with Rachel gone … and now Nate too? Come on."

Scott shook his head. "I'm fine, James. It's hard to transition to raising teenagers, that's all." He smirked James' way. "It used to be you all needed me every second for games and snacks and hugs; now you're all growing up."

"Well if you still want to lose at Mario Kart …"

"Maybe I do," Scott said, smirking harder. He turned his attention back to the road as the light turned green. "I'm proud of the people you're becoming - all of you. I hope you know that. I don't want to stand in your way."

"That's not even close to an issue," James said. "I just … I know there's not much else I can _do_ to help."

Scott reached over to squeeze James' shoulder. "Not something either of us can fix, James. We just have to wait it out until Nate has a handle on things, and with Rachel staying in Westchester to help Betsy, we'll just find our new normal again. We always do."

"Okay. I just felt like I had to offer an option. You deserve to be happy, too, Dad."

"I love you too," Scott promised. "But you're part of the family; don't discount that. I wouldn't want to be separated from you any more than I like being separated from your siblings."

James was quiet as he weighed his words, not wanting to let Scott think that he _wanted _to go any more than he wanted everyone to be at odds. "Should be easier mornings anyhow, huh?"

Scott smirked and nodded. "Besides, this gives us time to hang out just us - and I _will _win at Mario Kart. You're delusional."

"Yeah, I'll take it easy on you, don't worry."

Scott snorted. "I'll order the pizza. You set up the game."

* * *

"James," Natasha said slowly with a perfectly even tone as she and Katie stepped into the space Tony had given him to invent and experiment in. "You _have _to stop meeting girls at their discretion before I can look into them."

"Why?" James asked without looking up from the programming job he was going through at his 3D printer. "No one knows or _cares_ who I'm related to anymore."

"You know that's not true," Natasha said, crossing her arms.

"Well … no one outside of the spandex crowd even knows I exist, so …"

"They don't know you exist because I've worked very hard to keep you _safe_," Natasha said with some heat. "And your father has bent over backwards to do the same. Tony too, for that matter."

James let out a breath and pushed back from his desk to face her properly as he crossed his arms. "Okay. You're going to need to pick a direction," James said slowly. "Either … I'm in constant danger and I need to stay holed up and hidden indefinitely, or I'm relatively safe and should try and make friends with people that _don't _have aspirations to become Avengers."

"You know it's not that simple."

"Yeah, well … is it that bad, Katie?" James asked in an _open _attempt at deflecting. "You went with last time for coffee …"

Katie held up both hands. "Hey, I'm only here because Mom has to take me to cello practice after she does whatever this is. Leave me out of it."

"'This' is called a guilt trip," James said. "And a bad one at that."

"It's called _security_," Natasha said. "And you're old enough _and smart enough _to understand it."

"I do understand it," James said. "I keep an eye out for trouble. I did research into all the baddies and all their bad little kids … so I know what they look like and how to avoid them. You know. It's fine. Most of NYC isn't made up of creeps. Even the ones without spandex in their veins aren't all bad."

"Says the _boy_," Katie grumbled - since, as she was getting older, she was discovering as Rachel had what boys their age were usually thinking about.

"I know. All boys are fundamentally horrible people," James said. "But there are a pretty fair few stalkery women too."

"And not every one of them is going to be related to a bad guy," Natasha pointed out. "And the kinds of people after what you have and what you're capable of aren't above using young girls to lure you. I'd know."

"Okay, but you're not telling me what it is you want me to actually _do _about it outside of not talk to anyone unless you preapprove them for chatting. Which sucks the fun out of it." James held out both hands. "You told me to make friends. Socialize."

"Don't _go _with them unless I vet them," Natasha corrected him. "Talking is fine."

"What do you think I'm doing? Talking and coffee ...98% of the time."

Natasha shook her head at him. "Yes. Away from others. That's my point."

"So I need a chaperone for coffee too?" James challenged. "Because nothing says 'don't look suspicious' like walking around with an Avenger all the time."

"I want you to at least _tell someone_ where you're going, who you plan to be with, - and for God's sake, do it someplace close so if there _is _trouble, we can help. Half the time, I don't even know who you're dating or that you've gone out until after the fact!"

He leaned back in his chair. "Fine. Give me a list of _approved _coffee shops and _I'll do what I can _to stick to it."

"Fine," Natasha said, turning on her heel to leave.

Katie gave James an apologetic smile. "You should have seen her after my first date. Sorry about this," she said before Natasha called for her to catch up.

"You're getting grumpy in your old age, Aunt Nat!" James called out just to irk her even as he smiled at Katie. "Not as 'black' anymore either."

Natasha let out a wordless noise, and Katie grinned. "Hey, say hi to your brother for me, wouldja?" Katie said.

"Any love notes you want passed?" James called back. "Boxes with check yes or no?"

Katie giggled. "Yeah, 'when are you coming back from Westchester; please sign and date'."

"I'll draft it for you in purple crayola," James said.

"Please and thank you!" Katie called out before the door closed behind them.

James hummed to himself then took his phone out to draft up a quick text. _So, what do you say, Mayday? You gonna leave me hanging or are you going to go out with me? I just got the ticked off Aunt treatment and she wants to know that who I'm seeing isn't a security breach. I didn't mention who I was asking, but I know you're cleared. _

There was a pause and James smirked as he watched the three dots dance, waiting for her to respond before finally: _I will only date you if you come and introduce yourself to my parents. _

_They've both seen me here. _

_Dad doesn't know you've been asking me out or that you're ignoring other girls to get my attention. Yes. I know you've been ignoring them. _

James sighed. Queens was definitely out of the radius that Natasha had established for him … but on the other hand, little May Parker was absolutely cleared as the daughter of an Avenger. It really boiled down to what was more attractive to him. Keeping Natasha's head from exploding or impressing Peter Parker's troublemaking but _very _attractive daughter who he _knew _was interested in him. He looked across the hallway though the glass separating his lab from Tony's as he weighed it out. It was a no brainer. _I can be there in an hour. _

_Not tonight! I have school in the morning- not all of us are so far ahead of schedule. _

James smiled crookedly to himself. He knew tonight wouldn't work but he liked to rile her. _Friday then? _

The three dots danced and stopped several times before May finally answered. _Coffee after you talk to my parents. 3:30. Don't be late. _

_I won't be. See you then. _

* * *

Scott was visiting the tower more often lately. It had taken him a while even to go _once_, because he still didn't like to associate with the team in their work environment, and the last time he'd been had been when Jan got hurt. But the more time James spent there, the more Scott knew he needed to check in and support James so James didn't feel any more like a third wheel than Scott knew he already felt. He just had to remind himself that it was like going to Nate's soccer games.

So, Scott had started going - and was going more often lately, especially with Nate and Rachel in Westchester. His world revolved around the kids, and James was the only one home for the moment. So, he went where James was.

He smirked when the first person he saw was Jan. It had taken the two of them a while to figure out how to maintain their friendship when they both knew they deeply cared about each other, even if they'd broken up. But, somehow, it was easier once Jan started dating Tony Stark. It was easier for Scott to play a protective friend than to walk a careful line of trying not to fall back so easily into the way things had been between them once. And she seemed genuinely _happy _with Tony - surprisingly so - so that made things easier too.

"Oooh! Good timing!" Jan said when she saw him. "You came by between strikes in the prank war! You should be safe today. Tony's still trying to figure out how to get James back."

"Oh, good, because last time, I was picking feathers out of my hair for hours," Scott said, shaking his head as he closed the door behind him.

"You know, Tony apologized for that for _ever_, too," Jan laughed. "But it's back in his court … I'm not sure how the counter strike is going to go when your boy managed to rig one of Spidey's cartridges and _webbed him to the ceiling._"

Scott laughed outright. "That's my boy."

"You know, he's kind of asking for it when he lets the kid help him design triggers?" She pulled him along to the kitchen - already offering him a cup wordlessly. "So. Anything new with you? Anything that maaaybe I don't know about yet that I should know about?"

Scott shook his head with an easy shrug as he took the coffee. "It's been nice to have more one-on-one time with James lately. You wouldn't believe the games of Risk that have been going on at our house."

"Yeah? I already know better than to play chess with him. Is he getting sassy with you finally?" She was grinning widely.

"Mostly when I'm winning at Mario Kart," Scott chuckled. "Or if I have a blue shell."

"I'll have to take you by Tony before you go because you need to see the sassiness - he's got something for you to watch _but … _before that, I have news … and I want to be sure that all is good in your world."

"Other than Nate regularly contacting me to complain that he's ready to get back to public school?" Scott smirked and tapped his temple. "Which I would believe more if he could maintain the contact."

Jan made a disappointed face. "Poor guy. Being overly upset can't help with that, either, I'll bet."

"Nope. And he hasn't figured out yet that it's a _who _that he misses, not a _what_," Scott said, clearly entertained.

"Mmmhmm. Well. Give him a little time. He'll get it, and when he does, I totally have a new place to go for wings that I'd _love _to take him to," Jan said, nodding to herself before she subtly held her left hand out in front of herself and wiggled her fingers. "So …. News…"

"I noticed," Scott said, smiling outright. "I was wondering if you could stand to keep it to yourself much longer."

"How long have you known?!" Jan said, looking shocked - but delighted.

"Jan, I have eyes that pick up metal on everyone I encounter. I saw before you took your hand out from behind your back." He paused. "_And_ when Tony was carrying it in his pocket for weeks."

She grinned wider. "Well. You have the scoop on the press. We agreed not to let it out until you knew - and it has to be a controlled release. Don't want the press swarming our little wonder kid accidentally."

Scott nodded along to everything she said before he simply pulled her into a hug. "I'm really happy for you - but I also feel like it's my job to say if he hurts you, I'll put him through every wall in the tower. Just so you know."

Jan grinned wider and wrapped him up in another tight hug. "Aww, such a sweet guy."

"Got your back, Jan - you know that," Scott said, pulling her into a spinning hug. "And congratulations."

"Thanks, Scott. It means the world to me. And now … since you're ahead of the curve _as you should be _… you really need to see the video Tony has for you. He's been laughing for _days _over this thing. I mean … I didn't realize sass was that strongly _genetic_."

"What's the video?" Scott asked.

"James giving Natasha a hard time. Like … to the point she was nearly sputtering."

He grinned. "Then yes, I definitely need to see it."

She laughed as she pulled him over to Tony's lab - which was right across the hall from James, both for security and supervision issues - and as luck would have it, Tony was laughing and watching the video in question with Steve. "Oh, good. I need to know - is he like this at home, or does he save it up just for our Widow?" Tony asked when he saw Scott and Jan.

"It's for her … or for when I take Australia in Risk."

Tony was almost giggling as he cued the video up and turned the screen slightly for Scott to watch - again, the discussion at hand was security, and again, James was working loopholes and twisting Natasha's words on her like a pro - all while _looking _so much like an overly smug Logan it was almost illegal.

Scott shook his head. "And there's his father."

"I don't know," Tony laughed. "Awful lot of mom in there. Lawyering up all over the place."

Scott chuckled again. "You didn't have to deal with him as often as I did. They were a matched set."

"I don't know about how much we didn't have to deal with," Steve said, shaking his head. "His father gave me flack every single chance he got. The man called me his _sidekick_, for cry eye."

"And I had both of them trying to give me _and _the professor flack. In tandem."

"Yeah, but I saw her turn on _him _and play defense for _you _a couple times," Steve said. "I think she did it just to get that fully blindsided look of betrayal out of him."

"No, it was because I was right," Scott said as if it was that simple.

"Obviously," Steve said, shaking his head with a laugh.

"So … is that normal all the time at home or does he save it for special occasions?" Tony asked.

"He's never that obstinate with me," Scott admitted. "Must just be for Nat."

"Makes sense to me," Steve deadpanned. "Her spy-Nat expression doesn't work on him. He just gives it right back to her and asks what he wins when the staring contest ends." Steve grinned to himself. "Gets her worked up every single time. Even if I'm pretty sure she loves it."

"Jan tell you about the webbing bomb?" Tony asked, his expression somewhere between irritated and proud. "He won't tell me how he got a hold of one of those canisters."

"Oh, well," Jan said, grinning crookedly. "_I _know."

"Yeah, and you're not sharing," Tony said, rolling his eyes. "I can guess just fine. Little May's been spending a _lot _of time making excuses to get him out of the lab.."

"Yeah," Jan laughed. "And he runs with it when he's not _instigating _trouble here."

"Aside from the little prank war, he's really _not _causing trouble," Tony defended. "And if you tell him that this war is good for him, I'll deny it, but it really is getting him even more creative than usual. I've been taking apart the trigger system he rigged for that webbing attack all morning. Amazing work."

"High praise," Jan said his way with a crooked grin.

"He's earned it," Tony defended. "And if he can keep his focus on his work … then MIT will be bending over backwards to work around _his _schedule." He turned to Scott. "They probably would anyhow, but considering security, I still think it'd be best if he worked for his degrees remotely. I'm reasonably sure I should have done the same thing - but I wanted _away _from my dad at the time."

"Totally not the problem here," Jan said with full confidence. "But … Mr. Summers, I think I'd like a moment to chat with you, if you don't mind terribly. I have a wedding to plan and I'd like your input while these two act like teenagers."

"Do they ever _stop_?" Scott asked, one eyebrow raised.

"No. So it's best to leave them to it." She pulled on his arm to lead him away from the two _snickering _Avengers who were continuing the tape where James had called Natasha the 'grayer widow' and gotten an actual huff out of her.


	24. Crushed

**Chapter 24 - Crushed**

* * *

As it turned out, Clint and Natasha's second-oldest girl was a mutant, which meant the trip to Westchester for the family - not that Katie was at _all _bummed about it. She'd been missing her best friend fiercely and couldn't wait to tell him about how his brother was getting into trouble with May Parker and how Spidey _refused _to believe that May was the source of the trouble.

Nate seriously needed to hurry up and be done with his telepathy control stuff so Katie could get back to teasing people with him.

So she was grinning as she bounded out of her parents' car and bounced past Mia - who knew exactly who Katie was looking for and directed her toward the living room with a whispered: "He needs rescuing. An idiot blonde has him cornered."

Which was great! Then Katie could tease him about being the damsel in distress again.

Except… Nate didn't need rescuing. In fact, Katie barely got a glimpse of the two of them on the couch in a lip-lock before she slammed the door shut, turned purple, and skipped out of there as fast as she could.

She'd _never _seen Nate kiss anybody else before, and she didn't know what to _do _with that information. Her brain was basically rejecting the whole idea on the premise that it was _too weird_.

She made it out to the family car - her mom was dealing with Storm and talking about Lexi's newfound ability to gossip with every bird in New York and to talk to Lucky - and had thought that no one had noticed her quick escape until her dad got in the car from the other side and sat down with her with one eyebrow raised.

And, look, everyone always talked about how her mom was the spy and could get what she wanted with a look, but when her _dad _pulled that look, it was all over. The next thing Katie knew, she just started _crying_, and she couldn't figure out how to stop, especially once her dad hugged her and that just seemed to be like giving her permission to fall apart _even more_.

Eventually, when she felt like she'd cried hard enough that she was starting to come back down to Earth, Clint asked, "So, what happened - and is anyone going to care where I bury the body?"

Despite how terrible she was feeling, Katie ended up laughing as she shook her head and wiped her eyes. "It's stupid," she said, her cheeks still burning bright red.

"Doesn't look stupid to me," Clint said.

"It's Nate."

"I stand corrected."

Katie burst into a little laugh and finally managed to get her cheeks dry. "He's just… never … I mean, I didn't _mean _to walk in on him making out with a bottle-blonde, but…"

"But he's an idiot."

Katie sniffled and nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I guess he can kiss whoever he wants… I just…" She drew her shoulders up. "I guess I like him, Dad."

"You can do better."

"Yeah, I know," Katie said. "I just didn't even know I liked him, y'know?" She winced out a tiny smile. "Oops?"

Clint couldn't stop his smile. "I honestly don't know if you're more like me or your mom that way."

"Well, Mom says she figured it out one of the times you were, like, _dying_, so at least I didn't do that," Katie pointed out.

"Maybe he needs to be dying to figure it out … I can arrange that, you know. I know a guy."

Katie laughed and rested her head on Clint's shoulder. "Love you too, Dad."

"Sorry your friend is a moron," Clint said, pulling her in for a bear hug. "If it makes you feel any better at all, most guys at his age are. Hell. most guys at _my _age are. Sorry 'bout that."

"Yeah, Rachel was complaining about it last time the Summerses were over," Kate said with a small smile.

"I have heard a lot about what little Rachel Summers has been forced to _hear_."

"Have I mentioned I'm perfectly happy being a non-telepath human?" Katie said, her eyes wide. "Because I am. Very, very happy about it."

"I'll bet. Come on, let's say good luck to your sister and get out of this place, huh?"

Katie nodded and gave her dad one more hug. "Let's jet," she agreed.

* * *

"Taser arrows," James said out of nowhere. "I can make 'em tiny. Like darts. He won't see them coming."

Katie looked up from the homework she had been doing at the tower. James was _ridiculously _sneaky, which she didn't think was fair, and she hadn't heard him coming until just that moment when he'd spoken up. "Who won't see them coming?" she asked.

"Anyone that's dumb enough to have ticked you off," he said, raising one eyebrow. "Anyone I know?"

"Oh, just that idiot brother of yours has been kissing blondes," Katie grumbled, flushing pink. She wasn't sure what had given her away, since she'd sworn her dad to secrecy.

"Glitter bomb if you don't want to hurt him. But I still think a taser is appropriate. Just be sure you shoot him in the butt."

"It would be more satisfying to shoot _her_, since she was the one, um, being pushy…" Katie said, drifting off and _really _not wanting to talk about what she'd seen.

"Stink bomb then. Or something to dye her hair … orange. Like neon orange."

Katie smirked. "That last one for sure."

"It'd dye the skin, too." James leaned on the chair next to her. "But … how about a study break?" He peeked over her shoulder. "You've got this lesson down."

Katie let her shoulders drop but closed the book. "Yeah, I was just trying to look busy," she admitted. "Dad keeps offering neutering services, and I love him, but I'm trying not to be that girl, you know? Not like I ever asked Nate out anyway."

"Did you even know you liked him before the skank encounter?" James asked as he offered her a hand up.

"Well, no," Katie said slowly.

"Then you can't kick yourself over it." He leaned toward her and let his voice drop lower. "He was not prepared for her at all. It _won't _last long. But in the meantime, you look like you could use a coffee. Or a cocoa. And I have a short list of coffee shops that your mom won't stroke out over if I go to them … so we need to ignore that list and find a new one."

Katie laughed. "She might stroke out if she thinks I'm rebounding with you - especially if she thinks I'm rebounding cheating with May's guy."

"You're not rebounding. You're just … getting some coffee with me." He snapped his fingers. "You're my chaperone. Responsible party."

"James, I hate to tell you this, but if _I'm _the responsible party, we're all in trouble," Katie laughed.

"We'll have fun," he said, grinning at her. "Come on. What's it gonna hurt? Cross my heart, I'm not hitting on you. You're too much like a dorky little sister to me."

"We're practically the same age," Katie said, rolling her eyes.

"Still not the same."

"One month!"

"So you should be more mature. Are you coming or what?" James was still smiling at her. "May's going to be at her debate club all afternoon and it's definitely time for a break from here. So count yourself lucky because _she _wouldn't _ask _before retaliating against him or his skank."

Katie smiled and shook her head. "I'm coming," she said, taking a few quick steps to catch up to him. "Your girlfriend is trouble, you know that? I love her."

"What? She's just … creative. And starting to get spider-powers."

"Which is why you like hanging out with her so much," Katie pointed out. "But if it's alright with you, can we just talk about something not related to dating for a while?"

"Anything but Nate, yes. Please. That's what I was hoping for."

Katie smiled and let James lead the way as the two of them talked about Tony's latest shenanigans, not to mention how Lexi was getting along with classes in Westchester and how James' dad was still trying to fend off single women in their neighborhood without stepping on any toes.

Eventually, they got to the cafe and settled down with their coffee, now well into a discussion of Katie's love of sports colliding with sleazy and sexist coaches the older she got. She told him she was leaning toward cheerleading at this point because the soccer _and _softball coaches were both driving her nuts.

"I will 100% beat the daylights out of any coach that looks at you crooked," James promised. "I'll even make it look like an accident."

Katie laughed. "Mom's already taking care of it."

"She's a hog when it comes to that stuff you know. And we should really watch out for _her_ the older she gets."

"Well, you know I've been talking to Aunt Jan about designing something for me for that secret project we're definitely not supposed to be even _considering_…"

"Ah," James said, leaning back slightly.

"Nate let me in on it," Katie explained. "I hope that's okay, even if I'm not, you know…"

"I'm not even sure I'm in on it," James said. "I know about it, sure, I just … don't know that it's a smart move. And even though I know you're going to go into the _one _team, just … think it over before you commit to anything like the other one."

"Yeah, Jan sat me down to have a good talk when I approached her," Katie told him honestly. "She saw how messed up your dad was after what happened - how messed up he _still _is - and … she says she'll totally design for us if we do it, but I think I got her version of 'buyer beware'."

James looked surprised to hear it. "Really."

"You know she was really torn up about everything after that breakup, right? Not just the romantic angle," Katie pointed out.

"Ah, _yeah_, I was the only one that came up here when it was still fresh," James said. "Pretty sure I buried myself in applied astrophysics for a month. You know … _before _I ended up spending too much time with Franklin."

Katie nodded. "Still. If it's okay, I'd like to do it if you guys decide to go through with it." She paused. "Even if Nate's still being an idiot. Not like I only wanted to help for _him_."

"They're going through with it," James said. "I'm the only one on the fence. They've wanted to forever, I doubt they'll back off until they at least try it."

"Then I guess I'll have to back them up so they aren't even stupider than usual." Katie pulled a face. "Nate _alone_…"

"That is a really big job for just one person," James said seriously. "Both of them when they're secret keeping too?" He let out a noise of disgust. "Makes me glad I can block them out. It's nice to be defective sometimes. Make them _speak_."

"Actually, I _like _talking with Nate when he's-" She paused, blushed, and then let her shoulders drop. "Oh, never mind. That would be _super _awkward right about now."

"Katie. Come on. Don't lose your stride now." He dipped his head down to catch her gaze. "Do you need chocolate or explosives?"

"Um, yes?" Katie said, with one eye closed. "Sorry, I'm just…"

"You can take it out on me if you need to," James said.

Katie let out a laugh that didn't sound like her and instead of getting mad at him she started to cry a little bit. "Not _your _fault your brother is like this," she said. "And I really should get over it; I should."

James let out a sigh and got up to cross over to her side of the booth and wrapped her up in a hug. "I'm sorry, Katie. It's not your problem to fix."

Katie leaned her forehead on his shoulder as she hugged him back tightly with a soft, "I know."

They would have stayed like that for as long as Katie needed the hug, too - but they were joined by an unexpected visitor. A girl with curly, dark hair and a cropped hoodie that showed off her midriff sat down at their table and tipped her head at the two of them. "So, who's the jerk that made a gorgeous girl cry and can I help pound him?"

"Got it covered, thanks, new girl," James said.

"Yeah, you're a great shoulder to cry on; I can see that," the girl said before she held her hand out to Kate. "America Chavez, by the way. And my offer's good. I think most sleazebags deserve a beating anyway, but for a pretty girl, I'll go out of my way for it."

James couldn't help but laugh under his breath. "Okay, sure … been offered already and he's not that big of a sleaze. Just … stupid."

"He's dating an idiot blonde," Katie explained, smiling in spite of herself at America's brazen approach.

"Over you? _Chica_, you can do so much better than a blind moron," America said, smiling easily.

"She's not wrong," James said quietly as he sat back, though he didn't move away from her as he watched America.

"Yeah, I've gotten that message a few dozen times over, thanks," Katie said, brushing a hand through her hair.

James drew in a slow breath, subtly testing the air, then turned his head toward the counter. "Would you ladies like a refill? I'm buying."

"Well, if you're buying, I won't turn you down," America said easily.

James slid her a napkin. "Write down what you want. I know what she likes to order."

America smirked, took the napkin, wrote down her phone number - and gave it to Kate instead. "I'll just have cocoa, _gracias_."

James smirked and stood up. "_De nada. _You girls have fun. Don't worry, I'll take my time."

Katie was smiling in disbelief as she watched James leave and then pocketed the napkin with America's phone number on it. "Okay, I admit it: that was a good move."

"Hey, my opening move of offering to be a knight in shining armor didn't wow you," America laughed. "And you _are _very pretty."

Katie blushed. "You're not so bad yourself."

"I'll take it." America leaned forward with a smile. "Is 'not so bad' enough for a coffee date without your friend around?"

"We'll see," Katie laughed, knowing her mom would have a _fit _if she didn't at least run America's number through a few databases before she went anywhere alone.

When James came back a while later with drinks for the three of them, he couldn't help but slide another napkin to America. "Number of the barista in case you can't get any traction," he said as casually as breathing.

America laughed and pocketed the number. "Consolation prize. Nice. Should I be worried?" She was looking at James but obviously directing the question to Katie, who laughed and shook her head.

"Bout what?" James asked.

"Well, you're the friend she cries on in public. You've got _sway_," America teased him. "If you're already prepping me for failure with a backup option…"

"I've got a girlfriend. And I like to help wherever I can," he said with a crooked smile.

"So do I," she said, matching his smile with one of her own. "And I think I'm doing fine without the consolation number."

"I help even when it's my own brother being the idiot in question," James said.

"Ooh, that _is _a good friend. You're lucky, Princess," America said, grinning Katie's way.

"I know it, too," Katie said, smiling over the top of her coffee cup.

America grinned wider and then got to her feet. "Call me when you're ready to wash the taste of the idiot brother out of your mouth," she told Katie, all but bouncing out of the cafe.

James waited just long enough for the door to close behind America before he turned toward Katie with one eyebrow raised - and not a word spoken.

Katie threw both hands up. "I don't know. _Maybe_."

"She's cute. She seems like _fun_. And she wasn't being deceptive or sneaky about anything."

"No, I don't have to have a super sniffer to know how _open _she was being," Katie agreed, smiling in spite of herself.

"It wasn't a _line _either," James said.

"Well, that's good, because if I do end up kissing a girl, I don't want to dig up that conversation with, like, everyone for a _line_," Katie said.

"No one will bother you on that front," James said with a wave. "If you go for it now, when you're all … heartbroken, they'd probably just chalk it up to rebound or a fluke thing or … honestly the furthest thing from Nate you can find."

Katie shrugged. "I dunno. I guess it can't hurt to try it out, right?"

James held up one hand. "And I swear I won't breathe a word or have a thought about you or your pretty girlfriend to Nate _or _Rachel."

"No, no, you can definitely think about it around them," Katie said quickly.

"Yeah, I can. And they won't know anyhow," James said. "Cut 'em out, remember?"

"No, I mean…" Katie flushed. "I mean, turnabout…"

"Test the waters," James said, smirking and nodding slowly. "Yeah, okay. Or … ask her out. We can double. He'd hear about it through proxy by Dad and your mom won't have fits if you're not alone." He pulled out his phone and started texting May.

"James, has anyone told you you're a genius?" Katie asked, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

"Nope," he said, smirking wider as May replied with an enthusiastic 'when and where' that he tipped so Kate could read. "Genius hasn't come up."

Katie grinned. "Okay, but let me at least run her number or my mom _will _kill me. And besides, you don't call the same day you get the number."

James pointed at the cup America had left behind. "I was gonna run DNA, but sure. A phone trace won't be a problem either."

"Awww, you look out for me so well," she gushed.

"I _have _to. I'm a whole month older." When he got up, he carefully snatched America's empty cup. "Ready to go back? Just tell May the when and where. Don't worry about her parents. She'll get out anyhow."

Katie laughed. "You two are going to get in so much trouble one of these days. More than the usual level you get into."

He frowned at her. "What are you talking about? We're _perfectly _innocent."

"Yes, of course," Katie said, nodding along before she pulled her arm through his. "Now, come on. Let's get home so we can set up a double date."


	25. Trick Or Treat

**A/N - Here, have Halloween on Valentines day ... **

* * *

**Chapter 25 - Trick or Treat**

* * *

"Are you sure it's okay for Kate to bring a date to a school dance at a school she doesn't go to?" Nate asked Rachel with a frown as he put the finishing touches on his costume. A few weeks had passed since Katie and America started dating - or more accurately, double dating with James and May.

"You'd rather she went to the haunted house that America and May suggested?" Rachel countered. "Because you _know _if May suggested it … it wasn't for the haunted house. It was for the dark corners." Rachel shook her head with a muted laugh. "I swear, her projections are every bit as bad as most of the teenage boys I've gotten mad at."

Nate let out an annoyed breath. "That's not what I meant," he said as he flipped his pirate eyepatch down.

"Well those were the options," Rachel said with a shrug as she finished her makeup.

"Yeah, it's just… we were texting and she told me what they're all doing for costumes…" Nate muttered, not _meaning _to project to Rachel how he just knew he wasn't going to be able to focus all night. Along with exactly how frustrated he was that Katie was dating someone else.

_It can't be that bad, _Rachel tried to tell him. _And you're dating someone else. I'm just surprised that everyone let them go with America driving. _

_America can talk anyone into anything, _Nate pointed out sullenly.

_Yeah, but Dad. _

_Dad… thinks James is the angel child. _

_No, Dad thinks that May won't do anything too far off the rails, _Rachel corrected. _Especially since the plan meant meeting Spidey once they got here. _

_Yeah, cuz James isn't the one dating America._

_No. Just double dating with her. _Rachel was smiling to herself - especially since even now, Nate still wasn't fully aware of how _sullen _he was acting over Katie having a date.

Nate let out a breath and then kicked off from the dresser. "C'mon. Let's watch Spidey have an aneurism."

By the time Rachel and Nate got down to the party, America, Kate, May, and James had already shown up - and as predicted, Spidey was a few steps away from having a cardiac episode as his sweet little girl was having a _blast _dressed up as Daenerys Targaryen and proudly grinning at the slit in the skirt that went up to her hip. She'd gotten James to go along with her 'freak dad out' plan as a shirtless Khal Drogo. America of course, thought it was the height of hilarity, too, which was all the fuel on the fire that May needed to go through with kicking it up another notch.

She and James stuck around long enough for Mia to gush about their full costumes and makeup, then turned to Kate and America as James and May disappeared with May leading the way through the crowd and giggling madly the whole time.

"You guys look so much better in person in these outfits!" Mia declared, bouncing on her toes as her tail swayed behind her. "The cell phone pic was great but this …"

Kate and America grinned at each other, both of them wearing short skirts as matching Sailor Moon characters - both of them nailing the look complete with pigtails. "Your costume's amazing too," Katie pointed out. "I can't believe Forge put together a working Ghostbuster proton pack."

"Of course he did! He's the _best_," Mia answered with a warm smile. "Come on! You have to show off for mom before you both get too _busy_."

America smirked Kate's way. "See, Princess? She knows what's up."

"Oh, hush," Katie said, though she was blushing deeply - and grinning.

Mia dragged them to Storm, gushing the whole way, only to pause when she saw Nate show up across the hall. "Oh. Right. So … did you get your candy yet? Bob for apples before the water gets full of gross."

The pause was so obvious that America leaned over to Kate to whisper "oh look, the idiot," which prompted Kate to fall apart giggling - and got Nate to frown even deeper than before, if that was at all possible.

"Hey, Nate," Kate said, waving his way. "I like the pirate costume."

Nate made a small noise at the back of his throat before his date, Taylor, started to pull him away. "I like your costume too," he managed to say - over his shoulder.

"Yep. Confirmed idiot," America said loud enough that Nate could hear it and turn around to glare at her - only for America to take that exact moment to pick Kate up and kiss her _hard_.

Nate glared harder, especially when Kate kissed America back just as enthusiastically, and after that, he really wasn't paying much attention to what Taylor was saying anyway.

Across the room, as Nate got more and more irritated with Taylor, Mia let out a squeak and teleported over to Rachel with wide eyes. "Um … Spidey can't … talk. I think your brother is in trouble."

Rachel shrugged, not at all concerned with _that _brother at the moment. "May picked the costumes, so Spidey can't claim anything against James here."

"Yeah, but he went looking for them and … found them in the corner?" Mia told her quietly. "He looked like he was going to yell, but May just picked up your brother and took off. Laughing."

"Sounds about right," Rachel said, smirking.

"Is Nate okay?" she asked quieter.

Rachel let out a sigh and gestured wordlessly to her sulking brother. "He doesn't even realize he's being like he is. And I'm actively trying not to listen to his thoughts right now ever since he saw the Sailor Moon outfits, thanks. I don't need to know my _brother's _fantasies. Ever."

"Oh. My. God," Mia said, even more wide eyed than before. "Can you _stop him _without making him stroke out?"

"I'm not that good yet, and honestly, when I'm annoyed, my touch is more fiery than usual, so… that's a double no."

"How about you step away from the sulking brother then?" Mia suggested. "But I wouldn't go toward the library. I know James is probably blocking you but May …might be problematic." She turned and took in the room at large. "Yeah, you know … I'm betting this whole party kind of stinks for you right now, doesn't it?"

"I'm getting better at tuning them all out," Rachel said. "Actually, the adults are worse in some cases."

"Okay. please don't enlighten me … and how about … we just I don't know … find something to do that's fun?"

"Yeah, let's make my brother play the advanced candy toss Warren set up. He can't resist sharpshooting," Rachel said, smirking.

"Yes. good luck with that, I'll make sure we have enough candy canes." She grinned and disappeared in a poof of smoke - only to return a few moments later and pelt Nate with a few pieces of candy. "Come on! Time to play games!"

Kate and America shared a look and grinned as they took their places at the candy toss. There was a whole line up of quick games both old fashioned and some more modern to keep the students occupied. Everything from apple bobbing and the candy toss to donut jousting and moving candy corn with only straws. Which meant there was much that Kate and Nate could do to compete.

"Partners!" Kate called out, and America was quick to snatch the bucket from Kate's hands.

"Oh, come on," Nate grumbled just low enough that Taylor didn't _hear _him as she took up the spot next to America holding his bucket, though he raised his voice to Kate and America. "I hope you're ready to get beaten one-handed."

"In your dreams, idiot boy," America laughed.

It was simple enough - Kate and Nate were throwing pieces of wrapped up candy for America and Taylor to catch. The two with buckets weren't allowed to move beyond their reach, so accuracy started with the two throwing and right out of the gate, it was entirely lopsided.

The truth was that Kate and Nate were pretty evenly matched with aim … the problem was that Taylor didn't _know _that and was trying hard to compensate and impress them by over correcting and panicking when he'd toss something at her.

America and Kate on the other hand … America barely moved. At all. It was child's play to win that round - which frustrated Nate even further as he tried to gently tell Taylor repeatedly to quit. Moving. Which really only showed him that she had zero faith in his skills.

A few tables over, Storm was overseeing the apple bobbing all while encouraging and laughing at the kids that were participating. Lexi had just come up to try, but was nervous about it. Or she was until Spidey came in, marching May ahead of him with one hand on her shoulder - and dragging James along with his free hand, insisting that the two of them stay somewhere _public_ … though his direction was lacking the kind of laser guided directive that James decided was required, and to Peter's absolute irritation, James and May shared a trouble making look and dove into a very public borderline makeout session right there at the apple bobbing station.

Storm busted out laughing, but broke up the fun with a well-placed miniature storm cloud that had May loudly protesting and James laughing with his face tipped up to the rain. "Now that you're already wet, it won't hurt you to show Lexi how it's done," Ororo said as she pulled James back, laughing all the more when he simply used one hand to push the wet hair back and smiled up toward the last bit of the tiny rainshower.

"Are there teams?" James asked.

"Yes, and you're on Lexi's," Ororo said. "Let May find someone else for five minutes."

James was still grinning as he turned to Lexi. "You heard her. She put me on a timer."

Which of course had Ororo laughing again at him. "That is not what I said," she managed through her laugh. "Try to behave yourself."

Lexi giggled, knowing that James was picking at her, but it gave Peter a chance to actually _talk _to his daughter without James distracting her. It also left James and Lexi joking around as if there hadn't been an angry dad there just a moment ago. "You don't need me to win this," James said over her shoulder, though he hadn't backed away to go after May, knowing full well she _should _take a few minutes for both of their sakes.

"Your eye liner is running," Lexi laughed.

"Because you're breaking my heart by _stalling_," James said, gesturing to the apples floating in the water. "Get to it so we can get on with the game."

"Do you have a strategy for me?"

"Don't breathe in once your face is in the water," James said as seriously as he could - at least until Lexi hit him and called him a dork before diving in to try. She hadn't been at the institute for long yet, and she still was a little self conscious around all the kids, but James either didn't have that issue, or he didn't let it show because he seemed to be _fine _joking around and playing games with anyone around them as he and Lexi kept it up - with both of them giving the other advice - until they got their apples.

Which was when Nate came over ready to take his turn too - and wanting to at _least _beat America and Kate for time. "I don't know that you're authorized to play in the water, pirate boy," James said as he gestured to Nate's sling.

"It's not a _cast_," Nate said, frowning at his brother. "You're wearing more eye makeup than Rachel, you know." Lexi took one look at the expression on Nate's face and decided to get out of the line of fire.

"May did it," he said, not at all bothered by Nate's irritated tone, even if he was still dripping water from both the apple bobbing and the short _shower _that Ororo had hit him with. James grinned at Nate and crunched into his apple, perfectly at ease with all the chaos around them.

"You're supposed to go put caramel on that," America said as she and Kate came over to play, too.

"No thanks, I don't need the sugar," James said as he leaned into the chair nearest him to watch the spectacle. "And I wanna see who wins this round. I think I know already."

Nate narrowed his eyes at his brother but took up a position where he could glare at James if need be.

"You both know the rules here," Ororo said as she joined the little group of teenagers, though she paused to turn toward America. "I take it you would like to race Nate as well?"

"I could, but I already won," America said with a crooked smile. "Isn't that right, princess?"

"At one game, anyhow," James said, which was just enough to get America to shove him sideways and for Nate to regain his grin. "You sure you want to play this one, Katie?"

Kate glared as she took her spot across from Nate. "I'm on a winning streak. I totally want to play this one."

"Yeah, but are you sure?" James asked, only to get smacked in the chest by America.

"She wants to win, _chico_. No reason to give your idiot brother a chance." America shook her head at him. "Let her do her thing."

Nate and Kate were settled in at the same bucket. The water wasn't terribly deep, but it was still big enough for them to get soaked in if they weren't careful. Not that it was going to make a difference when the two of them squared off. They never could just play a game. It had to be a contest.

"No hands," Ororo reminded them. "And no powers."

"I don't need telekinesis to win," Nate said almost sullenly since, part of what his trouble with getting full control was his unintentional use of telekinesis. And with Katie right there it was a wicked reminder that he still had a way to go. And he hated that fact.

"Come on, little brother," James said. "There's no way you can't win this one."

"Thanks, James," Nate said, smiling crookedly until James continued.

"Your mouth is _way _bigger than hers."

Nate barely even looked at his brother before he shoved him back a step - aided by his telekinesis, not that it needed to be advertised, and not like James would bust him out on it. "Can we do this thing or what?"

"Waiting on you," Katie said with a smile, and after a quick countdown, the two of them dove into the water face first. Nate was _determined_, and Katie wanted to keep her winning streak, but … before she could quite isolate one, Nate was up holding one of the bigger apples by the stem between his teeth.

He was grinning around the apple as Katie sat up too, but the smile fell from his face when he realized how soaked she'd gotten and he quickly looked away. Before she could quite figure out what his problem was, Nate was already offering her his overshirt. "You got more soaked than I did," he said quietly, then rushed off once Katie had taken a hold of the offered shirt.

"What was that?" Rachel asked as Nate made his way over to her.

"Nothing," Nate said, still red high on his cheeks. Just trying to be nice. That's all."

Kate spun toward James with a frown as Nate rushed off. "Why did he …"

James cleared his throat and gestured toward her costume. "He probably didn't want you showing off in the impromptu wet t-shirt contest." He shrugged. "Or … he's just like that. Who knows. I'm no telepath." He kicked himself away from the chair he'd been sitting in. "I have to find May and try to talk Spidey down. Probably check on my siblings, too."

"Yeah, make sure he gets his eyes put back into his head," America shouted, then turned back to Kate.

"Worry about yourself, America," James laughed. "See you in a little while… party's almost over." He was still laughing to himself by the time he met up with Nate and Rachel and unceremoniously dropped into the seat next to Nate. "So. Are you okay?"

"I'm _fine_," Nate said, rolling his eyes.

"That was so _chivalrous_."

"It's more than you were doing," Nate said, though that only had James laughing to himself.

"Seeing as I had no shirt to share ... I mean … I doubt dropping my pants would have helped her."

"Oh my God," Nate said, covering his eyes with one hand. "I just … _I was trying to help_. And America wasn't-"

"America wasn't complaining," James agreed, cutting him off. "And she wouldn't."

"Not if she got to take a peek," Nate said almost sullenly, though James let out a long and pained sounding sigh.

"America wouldn't complain because you were _helping _not … being a slimeball."

"I'm _never _a slimeball," Nate said, sounding insulted, though that wasn't at all what James was trying to insinuate.

"I know - just … you know what? Nevermind. Have fun with Taylor. I'm going to make the rounds before Dad gets here," James said as he got up.

"Too late, he got here a few minutes ago," Rachel said, tipping her head toward the far side of the ballroom. "He's with Spidey. Have fun."

"Will do," James replied, turning on his heel to head toward where their Dad was having a muted chat with Peter and May Parker, though much of that fell to the wayside when Peter spotted him approaching.

"And here we go," Peter said, half frowning at James as he walked up and stood between his Dad and May. "Done causing trouble already?"

"I was just talking to my siblings," James said with a smile as he reached over to hold May's hand - which got a grin out of her anyhow. "So … probably, yeah."

"I'm telling you, you should have seen them earlier," Peter said, shaking his head. "I'm glad you're here to help me break it up."

"Do I need to break it up?" Scott asked, turning toward James with a raised eyebrow, though James only shrugged one shoulder up in response in a very non-committal gesture.

Until very recently, Scott really hadn't needed to worry too much about James and what he was up to with the girls he dated, but things had changed when he started seeing May Parker. Scott _knew _that James had been the one to kick things off after a few weeks of tutoring her at the tower for a project she was having trouble with at the Midtown High School Science and Technology, but once they had become an item, he watched as James seemed to simply hand the reins to May and let her run the show entirely.

Which meant that at least _Scott _knew that if they were getting into more adult situations, it wasn't from James _pushing_. "If you don't have a good answer, then it's probably time to call it a night," Scott said, and James honestly didn't argue it at all - which Scott thought should have been a signal to Peter that he wasn't _pushing_. Especially when May made it clear she wasn't pleased with the idea and dragged James off for one more goodnight kiss.

"They've been non-stop all night," Peter said, looking off to where May had disappeared with James. "Pure. Trouble."

"Has he been pushy?" Scott asked, trying to see if he could gently ease his mind.

"No, not really," Peter said, then sighed heavily. "Is it bad that I know I'd really _like _the kid if he wasn't dating my little girl?"

Scott did a fine job of keeping his smile in check as he shook his head 'no'. "I know exactly what you mean. I feel the same way with anyone Rachel so much as talks about."

Peter turned toward Scott with a perfectly open expression. "Is it easier with boys?"

"No," Scott replied immediately. "No, then you have to worry about everything from a whole different angle. Worry about them making the same mistakes we did at their age …"

"Oh. _Man_. Yeah … I'll just … I'll just try to get used to the _polite _and agreeable mini-Wolverine. Even if they're … they're just kissing, right? Tell me they're just kissing."

Scott tried not to laugh, though for as concerned as Peter was, he'd have been lying if he said he wasn't also wondering the same thing. "As far as I know."

Across the hall, America was saying goodnight to Rachel since her parents had shown up too. It was the weekend, so those that took their kids back for a few days were picking them up a little later than their usual Friday afternoon timeslot.

While Nate and Rachel waited near the front door for their father and James to make it to them, Katie carefully positioned herself to say goodbye to America, who was driving back alone.

"So. I had a great time," Kate said, pulling Nate's shirt around herself a little tighter, but that was all she got out before America grinned and pulled her into an extended kiss that honestly left them both a little breathless for the moment.

"See you soon, Princess," America said, walking backward to the door before she turned on her heel and almost skipped out of there, leaving Kate in the entry with Nate and Rachel for the longest thirty seconds of her life.

Rachel was giving her a raised eyebrow look, though she was also smirking crookedly while Nate had taken an intense interest in his shoes, though the tips of his ears were cherry red.

The standoff lasted less than a minute but time seemed to crawl by the three of them as Scott and made his way over with James in tow. "You ready to go?" Scott asked when he came to a stop near them.

Nate was silent, though Rachel answered for them both. "Waiting on you, Dad."

Scott nodded and spared Katie a smile that she almost missed, though she didn't miss the sign James managed outside of the other's view. _You OK? _She nodded and smiled, then smiled wider when Nate peeked up and the Summers family got moving, leaving Kate in a haze from the admittedly good kiss with America and the flannel shirt that she had wrapped around herself … that she had no plans on ever returning.


	26. November Thrills

**Chapter 26 - November Thrills**

* * *

Barely two weeks had passed from Halloween when Tony finally struck - and managed to prank James solidly. It wasn't as simple as a web cartridge gone wrong, but webs _were _involved. He'd come up from a coffee break - a short one where Clint joined him for the trip to the cafe and James wore his inducer like he did _most _days. He was still tired from answering the several hundred questions his father had asked him about May and how far they'd taken things - which of course had morphed into a more scarring reiteration of the birds and bees talk, so James wasn't really in the right mindframe to even pay attention to his surroundings like he usually did. Which made him a perfect target.

James walked into his lab, coffee in hand and barely paying attention. He set the coffee down and before he could pull his jacket off, his hands were webbed together in front of him to the bench - inches from his coffee. From there, the light fixture popped and James looked up in time to see a waterfall of foam coming at him. He closed his eyes and tipped his chin to his chest since he _knew _there was no way to pull away when he was webbed there, and he just _took _it, though he did bury his face in his hoodie.

Which was fortunate since just before the prank went off, Tony had been called away and the foam was not meant to be left alone for long periods of time.

Jarvis and Happy had come in to get him out of the webbing as soon as they saw that things were amiss -though not before snapping a picture for Tony. Especially since Tony hadn't intended for the prank to go off at all without being in the building himself.

Which was when Katie found herself walking into James' lab and trying not to laugh at the disaster that was half-hardened piles of foam.

"You didn't bring me coffee by chance, did you?" James asked, pushing some of the half set foam into the pile where he'd been trapped not long ago.

"Um. _No_. What is this?" Kate asked, still grinning since James was working in a tee shirt - and the hoodie he'd been wearing was already stiff and stuck upright. It was pretty obvious that he was going to need to change his jeans soon, too.

"I'm told it was a premature trigger on Tony's prank," James said, then paused and turned her way. "I know. You don't even need to say it. That joke speaks for itself."

"No … the joke that speaks for itself is your _hair_. Does that stuff come out?"

James sighed. "No. Wanna shave it off for me?" He gestured to the clippers that Jarvis had set down on a nearby bench. "One time offer. Make me bald."

"Are you serious?"

"Has to happen," James said. "I'd rather have someone who can see the back of my head do it for me _before _I take a shower." He flicked off a blob of foam from his hand. "This stuff will come off in water if it's still wet, but the stuff on my head is already mostly dry. I'm guessing the idea was that he was going to hit the sprinklers before it set up, but …."

"Yeah, I'll give you the look," Kate said, still giggling to herself as he made his way over to a section of the lab that was untouched by the prank. It wasn't exactly _easy _to get a few of the spots on the back shaved, but with a little encouragement, Kate managed it all the same.

And James honestly didn't look like himself without his hair. "I'll give you anything you want if you get me a new coffee while I wash up," James offered. "Please? Mine got ruined in the foam explosion."

"You didn't tell me Tony attacked _coffee _too."

"I know. An insult to the empire. Please? At least get someone good to pick out a flavored latte if you don't want to do it for me."

"You must be miserable if you're asking for flavoring …"

"Kate. I just had you _shave my head_ and now I'm going to try and get this yuck to wash off without taking any _other _hair with it. If you want me to beg, I'll do it when I get out. But now-"

Kate waved one hand. "Yeah, yeah, please go. You stink anyhow. I'll have it taken care of."

James was sullen as he thanked her and headed off for the gym to wash up. He was very sure the prank would have been better if it had gone off like Tony had intended, but now, he found himself jogging to get to the water quicker as his jeans were starting to harden up more and he didn't want to have to peel them off his legs. He was cursing the foam as he scrubbed off bits of it that had cured entirely. It came off his skin easily enough, but it took hair with it so by the time James was done, he was a little grumpy for the bald patches on his arms and legs.

But it had also given Kate plenty of time to not only get a coffee for him - that she was sure to order with caramel, chocolate _and _marshmallow - but she also had come up with at least a dozen _wonderful _zingers to accompany his new-found cue-ball look.

She grinned when James called out asking if she had his coffee and spun in place only to lose her smile entirely and stare when James finished walking toward her in new clothes … and with half an inch of dark fuzz already growing on his head.

"You're wonderful, Katie, thank you," James said as he took the coffee, trying desperately to ignore the way she was staring at his head, even when she started to walk around him. Instead of stopping her, though, he simply took a drink, and had to work harder at not making the face he wanted to when he realized how _sweet _it was. But that wasn't as distracting as how she was still openly _staring _at him. After she'd gone all the way around him, she still kept staring until finally James closed his eyes and let out a huff.

"Alright I _know_," James said with a tone of irritation. "Apparently I grow hair, okay? It's a _thing._"

"_You robbed me of all my jokes!_" Kate said almost in a breath. "Since when is _hair _one of your superpowers?"

"Kate …"

"No! I want to know! What kind of a power is that anyhow?"

James scrubbed his hand over his eyes and dropped onto the couch. "I have no idea. I just want my coffee, okay?"

"What do you mean you have no idea? About the hair? How could you _not _know that? Its your _hair_."

"Kate … can we not talk about this, please?"

Kate shook her head a few times but finally leaned against the wall, taking out her phone so she could text Nate her reactions if James was gonna be self-conscious about it.

_Your brother's secondary mutation is that he can go from bald to having a buzz cut in the time it takes me to get coffee. How's your morning?_

_He's not old enough for a secondary mutation. But that's just weird. It's so quiet here. We don't have impromptu buzz cuts for no good reason. Just English Lit with Ororo. _

_I got to shave your brother's head. Ha. _

_No you didn't. You would have sent pictures. _

_You can ask him if you need verification. I was _gonna _take pictures when I got back with coffee; how was I supposed to know the cue-ball look vanished that fast? _

_How fast are we talking and can we test this theory this weekend?_

_I won't be party to shaving his head when Mom only ever lets me go out on group or double dates and I _need _him for that. _

There was a long break where it was clear Nate was typing, deleting, and typing again several times. _What about if you just documented it? I think I can hold him down with the TK. _

_That's a good loophole. I'll think about it, _Kate texted back with a growing grin.

_You know. Unless you're totally busy and _can't. _I get it. _

_You act like I'm the socialite of Bed Stuy or something, _Kate shot back.

_You kinda are. All the group activities and checking your schedule. _

_Are you jealous? _

_Bored. My weekends are open outside of whatever Dad has planned. _

_Doesn't sound like you. Last I saw, you had groupies._

_What groupies? I didn't see any. _

_Aww shucks, ma'am, I didn't notice the blonde hanging on me or the other three giving her jealous looks..._

_I don't know what you're talking about there, Katie. I thought you heard I ditched the pushy one? You know. For being pushy. And wanting me to talk to her telepathically all the time. She wanted a _link up.

Kate could feel her whole face flushing as she tried to not sound or look or smell any different to James when he was in the room too. _Oh. That's news to me. I'm sorry she was that pushy, especially when I know your family history with link ups. _

_You called it. The pushiness. _

_I did, but I didn't know it was THAT bad._

_It wasn't until after Halloween. I don't know what her problem was. Doesn't matter though. _

Kate bit her lip. _Well, you're always welcome to hang out. You know that, right? _

_Now I do. Maybe coffee then if you can get coffee with my brother and half the tower, one more won't hurt, right? _

_Not at all. Join the fun._

_I have to say, ma'am, it's been an awfully long time since we got the group together. Without it being some big official whatever. And May really is funny when she gets going, FYI. _

_I know! She and Cassie and Lexi are actually the best teamup ever, and then add in Dani Cage? You've been missing out not growing up with us Avengers._

_Hey, Dad could barely handle James being up there as much as he has been. He'd probably have died if we all were going there that often. _

_Yeah, true. And I do get it. I mean, my dad went through the five stages of grief when we found out Lexi was a mutant because he's so worried she'll get hurt because of it._

_He does know that she's just got a different gene and not like … she's not actively dying. Right?_

_He does, but my family has also been the point of contact for yours when the worst comes knocking on your doors, remember? And Dad's always been a worrier. _

_Yeah, trying to forget. It's been a while. Crap. Now I need to knock on wood or something. Hey. Hit my brother in the head for me, would you?_

Kate laughed out loud and then hid it behind her hand, even though she knew James had heard her. _I miss you. Hurry up and finish your telepathic work!_

_I'm trying_, Nate replied. _It just seems like I start to get the TK balanced and the telepathy goes haywire. Or the other way around. Just to screw with me. _

_Well, let's make a game out of it. I'll bring my bow over and yell PULL and you TK something for me to shoot. _

_If you come over with your bow, it's just going to be to lose at a shooting contest. And you just said you missed hanging out. _

_You can't beat me without your TK and you know it. _

_Sure I can. Happy to prove it, too. I'll even keep proving it until you can accept it. _

_You, me, a dampener to make sure you can't cheat, and a range. Saturday morning when we come to get Lexi. _

_You're on. Scardey-hawk. _

_I literally don't understand how you can think that when I'm the one laying down the challenge. Unless you think I'm scared for asking for a dampener, in which case: Manipulative Telepath Trying to Cheat Alert. _

_That is a highly specific alert and only applicable to my sister, thanks. _

_Mmm, no. I know about the Cuckoos and their mom. _

_That … is not really a parental situation. Budding, I think. _

_Whatever. Point is, cheating telepaths. You're scared to go without your powers, aren'tcha? _

_Not even a little bit. And I'll even use the crappy school bow to beat you. _

_Nope. Not gonna give you the excuse to lessen MY victory. Best bows. And I'll still wipe the floor with you and you'll have nothing and no one to blame but yourself. _

Nate started to type up a response, and Katie waited with a grin to see what his retort would be … only instead of a text, her phone rang.

"Calling to forfeit, scaredy cat?" she sang out.

"Calling to remind you that even if they're easily distracted, I can't have even my favorite Hawkeye distracting my students during class," Ororo said.

Kate let out an eep. Even if Natasha had ultimately adopted her, Ororo had always been like a second mom to her since she'd helped rescued her, so this was a pretty serious call-out. "Right. Right. Sorry!"

"I'll be happy to supervise Saturday morning, however," Ororo said.

"Awww, you're the best, Stormy!" Kate said, grinning wider than before. "Love you. Tell everyone there I said hi!" With that, she quickly hung up before she could get in actual _trouble_, then slipped out to go practice archery.

* * *

_I can't believe my Dad is making me go to Westchester. There is nothing to do out here in the sticks. We don't even have neighbors! _

James sat back at his workbench with his cell phone in hand. It had been all of three days and he was getting constant texts from May since her father had decided she needed to learn to control her powers - mutant or not. And James was trying very hard to walk the tightrope of good, supportive boyfriend and some kind of responsible party. _It's not permanent_, he texted back. _And even if you're smarter than most of the kids there, you're going to get in trouble with Ororo if you keep texting in class. _

_Am I bothering you? _

_No. But I don't want to get blamed when you get busted. Call when you get a break. I'll keep the phone nearby. _

There was a pause before May wrote back - though it wasn't what James was expecting. _I didn't think you'd take his side. _

_Not taking sides, Mayday. Seriously. I'm right here. Call when you can do it without getting in trouble. I'll be waiting. _

James spun a slow circle on his stool. She'd be mad. Of course, she would. She haed when James pointed out that she wasn't sneaky enough to get away with things like this and she hated when he was right, which was more often than May would admit to - even when it was blatantly obvious - but he didn't like to point it out. Because pointing it out always ended up biting him in the backside. But that didn't make waiting around to see how mad she was at him any easier.

He _knew _that May thought she had her powers under control, and James knew that simply wasn't the case. She didn't know her own strength, for one thing, and had accidentally sent him flying once or twice. And for another, her spider-sense was entirely unreliable to the point that she found herself flinching at things hat weren't a threat and ignoring things that were sometimes. And James had more than a couple of shirts that had been ripped when she'd rested her hand on him - and then found herself unable to _let go_ before she panicked.

In spite of all of that, James hadn't breathed a word about it to anyone - and he had no plans to. But it was pretty clear that May didn't entirely believe that was the case. She didn't realize how much her father had struggled with that powerset on getting it overnight as opposed to May's slow ease in. And she didn't realize how watching her make similar mistakes was honestly scarring for Peter to watch. Instead, she mistakenly assumed that James was on much better speaking terms with her father than had _ever _been the case, and she didn't appreciate it.

James had _no _idea how to address it, let alone handle it. But again, it wasn't something he thought he had much say in, and he wasn't about to ask for romantic advice from _anyone _at the tower. At all.

So James simply went back to studying. He had some major tests to take in a few short weeks, and Tony had made it clear he expected great things out of his little golden boy. So James put his mind to his work and honestly lost track of how much time had passed before his phone chimed. He'd assumed May was finally reaching out again, so he wasn't expecting the text to come from _Mia, _or for it to consist of one line and a picture of Mia, Lexi, and _Cassie Lang_.

_I guess all the cool Avengers kids are going here now! We're being invaded! Send Katie! _

James shook his head at the photo then took a picture of his textbook to reply with. _Love to send help but they all got scared off by a little homework. YOU send help. _

He wasn't expecting her to respond with an enthusiastic "_Will do!_" Or for them to show up not fifteen minutes later with Natasha grinning at him.

"Check the timestamp in the photo's file next time," she advised as the girls paraded into the lab. "They were coming in for a tour of the tower ad I talked Storm into letting MIa out with an inducer."

"You missed it," Mia said, grinning as she looked around the lab with a grin. It had been a couple years since she'd been to the tower - and it was her first trip to see what Tony had set James up with to work and tinker in. "I was a blonde with blue eyes."

"I could program it to look like you without the fur," James offered, then turned to Natasha. "Unless that's a security breach."

"It would be much less of one if you wore yours for more than entering and exiting the tower," Natasha said as she ran her fingers through his hair. "You're all grown out again."

James jerked his head away from her hand. "Yeah. No one told me it did that."

"It's one of those little things we didn't think about until we saw _you _doing it."

"Any more of those I should know about?" James asked dryly.

Natasha smiled to herself as she watched him. "Very likely. I'll let you know when it happens."

"Thanks, _Mom_," Lexi called out. "I think we can finish our tour on our own now."

"I don't think Ororo intended for this to be a social call."

"Too bad, it is," Lexi countered with a grin even as May drifted over to where James was with a trouble making look. "You _said _James was hanging out with questionable kids when he isn't with his friends."

"That was before _those two _started dating," Natasha said, gesturing to James and May.

"I _do _need a coffee break," James said, smiling to himself as he pulled May over with one arm so he could wrap her up from behind.

"And I need cocoa," Lexi said.

"Me too," Mia echoed, with Cassie nodding her head in agreement.

"We can wait for Katie and America if you want," James offered. "I know Katie was more or less done with her English paper just a little bit ago, so it's just a matter of time before America shows up."

"You don't mind hanging out with all the girls, then?" Natasha asked with a sparkle of trouble of her own.

"Hell no," James said, frowning. "Feeling pretty well protected, to be honest. We've got a super strong webhead, a teleporting _blonde_. Today. A dimension kicker, an ant-girl, and a Hawkeye … I think Lexi and I are safe enough with this crew."

"And you girls don't mind keeping James _safe_?" Natasha asked with a laugh, knowing full well what the response would be, even if she hadn't expected James to take _that _route with his argument.

"Oh, I _guess _we can keep people away from him. If we _have to_," Mia said with a laugh, then turned toward Natasha. "Please? I promise we'll just go for coffee and come back with snacks."

"You _can't _get in trouble with Mia there," Natasha said as she pointed at James. "Take a comm or you won't leave this tower without an escort."

"Yeah, okay, fine," James agreed - just to get out of the tower for a few minutes. His trips out had been few and far between with Cassie and May in Westchester - and always chaperoned by _someone_. Even when it was just Happy.

"Then stay close - and _only _to the cafes I cleared for you. _Please._" Natasha held James' gaze until he nodded, though she wasn't convinced that he would follow her terms. He had all sorts of trouble doing so on his own. Maybe with the girls directing traffic it would go easier… "Girls … you know my rules. Make sure he sticks to them."

James let out a deep sigh as the girls around him agreed - which meant any troublemaking would be a lot harder for him to manage. Or it would seem that way, anyhow. It _was _just a little trip for coffee and snacks. And by the time they met up with Katie and America, the girls had already picked out which cafe they wanted to go to - which meant James really was just along for the ride.

Which was how Cassie, Lexi, and Mia led the charge, though they were chatting with Katie - which mostly left James and May to follow behind them by a good length, holding hands and honestly enjoying the chance to spend a few minutes - even if it was on a public street. Even if they were heavily chaperoned, too. And as expected, at the cafe as the rest of their group spent their time chatting and catching up, May was making up for lost time with stolen kisses that had Mia blushing brightly.

"It's not like he's going off to _war _or something," Katie laughed as she threw a napkin at the two of them.

"No, you're right. It's more like _I am _seeing as I'm two _hours _away at boarding school," May countered, throwing the napkin right back at her. "Besides - it's not like you and America aren't sucking face every chance you get after school!"

"Mayday, don't," James said, automatically trying to buffer a little for Katie when she turned bright red. "Please."

On hearing his tone, she backed off, but didn't quite understand why he'd want to back off - especially when he was the one with the rep for picking. But … on seeing how sincere James looked and how embarrassed Katie was, May did decide to back off. If nothing else, then to go back to what she was doing.

"Kinda not a shock _at all _that you and Kate are getting along," May said quietly to James - her tone low enough that she knew only he'd hear her.

"Yeah?" James asked. "You and Nate taking up a lot of time in your similar misery?"

"I really want to get back to basketball," May agreed. "And I know I'm getting close already, I just don't know if Dad will _let me_."

"Sure he will," James said. "If you want to make a thing out of it, put yourself in competition with Nate. See who can get it together faster."

"That might work," she said, nodding. "Of course … you keep finding out new things about your mutation, too … who's to say _you _don't need to go learn how to cope?"

"Mayday, what I do is passive." James took a moment to take her hand and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "There isn't anything they can do there to help me, and I've learned how to deal with what I do already."

"But you might have a new mutation," she said with a grin.

"I don't think my hair growing stupid fast is something I need coping help with."

"You are missing the boat, mister."

"Maybe, but I'm also enjoying my time with Dad," James admitted. "And I doubt anyone would believe me if I suddenly said I needed _help _with my senses, or … whatever."

"Do you have to be logical about it?" May laughed as she curled into his side.

"I can try not to," James replied and the group continued their discussion about the upcoming break.

People were already scurrying for the Christmas season to start and May and Cassie both had plans to go watch the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center with their families. May opened her mouth to try and invite James along, but stopped herself when she remembered how much his family carefully avoided large crowds like that. The discussion fizzled when it was plainly clear that Mia _longed _to go to a gathering like that. It was still a rough adjustment for most of the Avenger's kids to remember how difficult it was to be a mutant, unless of course they _were_ .. and May and Cassie were _not. _

"Oh, crap, mom is going to be mad," Kate said as she leaned away from America suddenly. "We're running behind. We need to start back before she sends out a search party."

"And we can't have that," America said in a sigh. America had been _trying _to get a little more traction with Katie, but she kept coming up with excuses that felt like they didn't have much weight to them. They'd only been on _one _date that wasn't a double since Halloween.

"Can we at least take the long way?" Cassie asked. "For the air?"

"Yes," James agreed as he left a tip on the table to cover all of them. "We need the long way."

The kids were pulling their coats on - and Cassie took an extra moment to tie her scarf a few steps from the group when a man behind her bumped into her. "Oh, excuse me. Sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you."

"It's alright," the man said, though he'd looked supremely irritated until he saw her. "Aren't you a little cutie? Pretty girl like you needs a smile on."

Cassie blushed and pulled her jacket around her a little tighter. "Oh. Okay …"

"Come on, _chika_," America called out, waving for Cassie to catch up, which she did - _gladly_. But she didn't see the guy and his friend when they followed her out of the cafe.

The group formed up much like they had on the way to get their coffee, and James for one, was carrying back a tall latte as he walked hand in hand with May. The two of them really didn't look like they were part of the bigger group of girls by the time they hit the end of the block. A few pairs of people had gotten between them and their group … including the two men who were following Cassie.

At first, James didn't hear what they were saying … and then when he did, he unconsciously let go of May's hand as he watched them talk about 'that little cutie'. He frowned and narrowed his eyes trying to determine who it was they were talking about since there were several attractive women walking amid the group. As James looked at the shifting crowd, the comments got more graphic about _one _of the women ahead of him on the sidewalk. Or he thought it was about one of the women, anyhow. America and Kate were at the head of the pack - and a few more people had gotten between them and Cassie, too, but James could _see _something was wrong when America turned and looked over her shoulder at the guys.

"She's so beautiful. I wish she wasn't so young …"

"She could pass for sixteen with a little makeup. Maybe a pushup bra..."

The two men chuckled and James felt the blood drain from his face when he realized it wasn't the _grown women _ahead of him they were talking about. It was someone in his group of friends - and every one of them was well under 18. May said something to James and squeezed his hand to get his attention. When he turned, he saw that she clearly had caught up to the presence of trouble, too. So they needed a plan.

Before he could come up with something though, he caught the scents coming off of the men .. and one of them finally took a few quick steps to whisper over Cassie's shoulder. James didn't even hear all of it. Just "Sweetie, I'd love to be the first guy to-" before he dropped his coffee and burst forward, pushing the people between himself and Cassie out of the way. As the stranger put his hand on Cassie's waist, James grabbed a hold of the back of his jacket and picked him up bodily before slamming him into the nearest building face first.

Cassie squeaked as James began beating on the guy. He hadn't given a warning to him,and he didn't even speak as he just kept hammering him. James got in half a dozen hard hits that echoed with cracks before his buddy realized what was going on and tried to help, but by then, America had caught up and didn't ask any questions before she started beating on the buddy, leaving the rest of the group in honest shock at how quickly a simple walk had turned sour.

The only one who really _knew _why James was so mad was Cassie - and she was half scared at seeing him lose his temper. She'd _never _seen him do that, and she'd been around him plenty at the tower growing up. There were a few people that had backed up and were watching in horror … until James finally ground out "You can't talk to her like that! She's _eleven_, you sick sack of shit!"

He kept pounding on him - even after America had stopped hitting her guy before the cops showed up, but only just. With every hit James delivered, the creep's head rebounded off of the concrete before two uniformed police officers rounded the corner, then started shouting as they broke into a run.

One of them, a tall, broad, Black guy pulled James off bodily, looking surprised at how much hassle that was, though James stopped trying to pull loose when he realized it was a cop that had pulled him back. "What do you think you're doin' boy?" the cop shouted. "You can't fight in the streets!"

"That pervert put his hands on my friend," James said, his voice shaking for how angry he was. "She's _eleven_ and he thought he could ...!" He cut himself off, not trusting himself not to threaten the guy's life in front of the two police officers. And he wanted to.

The two cops shared a look. "Anyone else able to back that story up?" the other cop asked, even as the first cop got started putting James in handcuffs.

Cassie looked upset when she saw that James was getting in trouble and quickly spoke up. "Yes, it's all true. That guy and his friend said all kinds of gross stuff and he told me what he wanted to … he had his hand on my waist," she said. "James was just trying to get him off me. I swear."

"You got any ID on you, son?" the first cop asked James quietly, though it was loud enough that most of the girls there caught it and held their breath. No way around it - this was bad.

"Back right pocket of my jeans," James said through his teeth, holding his hands out of the way so the cop could get the ID out. "I'm not old enough for a driver's license."

The second cop laughed. "Sure, kid. If you say so. But we're gonna need some real ID out of you."

"Come on, son, you're gonna have to do better than this," the first cop said as he looked over James' passcard for Stark Tower. "They sell these on the street to tourists. I need a real form of identification."

"That's all I've got. Just … take me to the tower and they'll verify it," James said, but the second cop was laughing outright as Katie quickly called her father on her cell phone. This was spiraling out of hand _fast._

"No, what we're gonna do is take you to the station and run you through every database known to man until we figure out who you _really _are." He shook his head. "We're not wasting time for anyone at Stark's place."

"Am I being arrested?" James asked through clenched teeth, knowing that it was going to be a disaster if that was the case. All that cop needed to do was put his name in the computer or use facial recognition and _Logan _would come up. If not for name correlation, then because the facial markers were likely earmarked by weapons agencies who were _looking _for him… and that would be it. "Because if you are, I think you need to run the idiot that was groping my _very _underage friend."

"I _am _eleven," Cassie said. "And he did put his hands on me and said .. some stuff I'm probably going to need a therapist for."

The two cops shared a look and the second officer made his way over to check the unconscious man out, though once he picked up the wallet that fell out of the man's jacket, it was just a matter of a few minutes over the radio before _that _guy's ID came back … with an arrest warrant out for being a sexual offender that had neglected his registration requirements. Which meant that even if James was _technically _in the wrong, neither cop was going to go out of their way to cause _him _grief when he had practically gift wrapped a dangerous offender for them.

It wasn't that they _wouldn't _have arrested James … it was just with all of the kids swearing up and down that James was a minor and too young for ID _and _with Cassie crying as she told the full story, all it took was for Clint to come rushing around the corner ready for a fight to clear the air.

Though Clint had been on the team nearly from the beginning, his _face _still wasn't one that was entirely recognizable to most of the residents of the city, but after he produced _his _ID and vouched for knowing all of the kids there, at least the cops weren't ready to arrest James for beating the guy up. But the first cop _didn't _want to hand James over to Clint.

"If it's all the same to you," the tall Black guy said. "I'd like to have a word with his parents about what happened today, and no offense, but legally, I can't release him to you - superhero or not."

The cop's partner looked vindicated at hearing it since _many _of the city's police force wasn't too keen on all that even the Avengers did. But hearing that he was refusing one of them had the second officer in a good mood as he turned toward Clint and the first officer. "I'll handle these two if you want to take the kid," he said.

"Yeah, I got him," the first cop said.

"Officer …"

"Officer Wright."

"Okay. Officer Wright, really," Clint said, trying to keep it from escalating. "I know his Dad. He's in major trouble even without anything official on the record-"

"I'll need to talk to the boy's father, that's all there is to it," Officer Wright said. "Unless this kid's some kinda supervillain. If that's the case, speak up and I'll rush him through for you."

"I could be," James said under his breath, but not only did Clint miss part of it, Officer Wright caught it and actually found the humor in it.

"Yeah, you're real diabolical," Officer Wright said. "Beatin' down some loser cat callin' little girls. The city quakes." He leaned toward Clint. "Still can't do it though, and my choices are take him to his parents or bring him in. I'm tryin' to take it easy on him and just bring him home - keep pushin' and I'll change my mind."

Clint glanced at James, half holding his breath before he made a decision. "They live in my apartment building," Clint said. "So we can compromise. We'll all go together, huh?"

"That sounds good. You won't have any trouble tellin' me where to take him."

Clint sighed but nodded all the same, knowing better than to push and get James in more trouble when that could be disastrous in _so _many ways. "Just let me call his dad and make sure he's home," he said, already gesturing for Lexi and Katie to head back with him while he got Scott on the phone and quickly told him to come home - _to the apartment_, he was careful to specify. Cassie and May were already redirecting Mia - and America was gladly playing bodyguard to be sure the three of them met up with whichever Avenger was waiting at the corner for them - keeping distance so as not to draw any _more _attention.


	27. Sentencing

**Chapter 27 - Sentencing**

* * *

Scott was at the apartment in Bed Stuy when the parade found its way there, looking stressed already because the apartment was supposed to be a secure backup - and even more stressed when he saw that there was a police escort. "What happened?" Scott asked.

"From what I saw, it was a public beat down," Officer Wright said. "But then I heard the story."

Scott's entire expression tightened as he thought of the many times James' parents had lost their tempers, and he motioned the officer - and James - inside. "James?" He had both eyebrows raised, not only at the story but at the fact that James' inducer wasn't on - and they had only been blocks from the tower.

"I lost my temper," James said carefully, trying _not _to think of what he'd heard from the creep while also trying to remember exactly what he'd done to the guy. "This idiot was harassing the girls."

"James, you damn well better have a better reason than street harassment," Scott said, his mouth tight as he almost breathed the words out.

"He put his hands on _Cassie_, Dad," James replied through his teeth, doing his best to keep from growling - successfully.

For a long time, Scott stood where he was in the entryway, a muscle working in his jaw, since that was, in fact, a good reason to lose his temper. He'd probably have done the same. The problem, of course, was that James was standing there with a police officer, and that meant _records_. But he couldn't bring himself to scold James when he'd done the right thing protecting Cassie, either.

Officer Wright cleared his throat. "Officially, no one saw anything," he said. "But I wasn't so sure my partner wouldn't go for bein' a pain since the boy didn't have any identification on him to speak of. Figured it would cause more trouble than help anyone if he went down to the station." The cop still hadn't shown his cards on what he thought of all of it, though he started to as he watched Scott try not to react. "The guy your boy beat half through a brick wall was a registered offender, by the way."

Scott nodded slowly, doing his best to _not _look like he was already running through the myriad of ways this could go wrong and the dozens of backup places he'd need to vet so they could start over. "My son doesn't lose his temper like that, Officer," Scott said at last. "Not without _very _good reason."

"I can believe it," Officer Wright said. "If nothing else, than because he didn't try to fight _me _when I pulled him off the guy, though I still didn't hear the full story - I think that aside from doin' our fine city a _service _… this young man needs to try and keep from doin' my job for me until he can carry identification at the very least."

Scott nodded, though he was still watching James carefully. "Our family tends to keep to themselves. This particular asshole managed to go out of his way to step into James' path with his stupidity. I promise it's not a regular occurrence."

"The perpetrator was stalking an eleven year old girl." Officer Wright nodded his head then watched James for a moment himself. "I'm sure that if takin' up hero work was a regular thing for your boy, I'd know about it. Now … we did search him. Standard procedure, I did it myself, so _this_," he said as he handed Scott James' things - including the inducer. "Can stay between us, though I think that if he'd been _hit _while he was using it, it would have caused more of a stir when it broke and I _guarantee _my partner would have hauled him in with backup."

Scott stared at the inducer for a long time, knowing they were caught and knowing there was no way around it. "Damn," was all he managed to say.

"I'm not gonna say a word," Officer Wright said. "Not to anyone. Not ever. I got no room to talk, anyhow."

Scott finally looked up at Officer Wright again, the lines etched in his face even more apparent than usual. "You don't understand," he said in a breath. "If anyone knows-"

"No, I think I do," Officer Wright said as he gestured at Scott. "Pretty distinctive callin' card there. But I'm not sayin' anything, and my partner was too excited to arrest the guy that got the beat down that I don't think he realized the kid's strength." He turned back to James. "Lay low for a while, get a hair cut or somethin', too, because you do not look like your Dad here."

"I'll handle it," Scott said.

Officer Wright offered Scott his hand to shake, and made sure to give him his card, too. "You come up on any trouble, let me know. I'm just gonna make sure any traffic cams near there go blank before I call it a day."

Scott blinked his surprise at the officer. "You don't have to put your career on the line."

"I'm not lettin' anyone look too hard at the kid," he said. "Definitely not over some scumbag that was askin' for it." He shrugged. "Chances are good one of the higher ups already did it anyhow. Don't want the guy's lawyers sayin' we missed out on doin' our job." He leaned toward Scott slightly. "And between you and me? If he'd _had _ID on, they'd probably want to throw him a parade."

"Which wouldn't help us, really," Scott muttered.

"No, it would not," he agreed. "I'll leave you to deal with this between you, but … you know where I stand with it. Really just wanted to see the kid get home myself. No offense, but the Avengers don't have the best track record with our kind. I wasn't gonna blindly trust 'em."

"I appreciate it, really," Scott said as he put a hand on James' shoulder, waiting until Officer Wright was gone before he tipped his head toward the living room so he and James could sit down for a more _private _chat.

James didn't say a word as he followed Scott's nonverbal cues and took a seat, waiting for the reaming out he _knew _was coming. But unlike when Nate knew he was in for it, James felt no desire to defend himself _ahead _of Scott or whatever he had to say. He understood it - and he understood why the cop had handled it like he had, but the truth was that James was pretty ticked off at himself for not keeping a handle on it and for not using the damn inducer more, though the cop was right. One solid hit and the inducer would have made a much bigger mess.

Scott was silent for a long time before he finally put his other hand on James' other shoulder to look him in the face. "First thing's first," he said evenly, "you didn't do a damn thing wrong when it came to the guy who came after Cassie. I don't know that I would have been any more elegant about it myself, considering her age, not to mention the fact that I know she hasn't had the same training you kids have had about watching her surroundings."

"That was on me," James said. "I should have stuck closer to her."

Scott shook his head. "No, don't start on that," he said. "Any one of you kids would have been enough to stop this guy. Frankly, from what I've heard, I'm surprised you beat May or America to the punch."

"They couldn't hear him."

"Ah." Scott nodded. He seemed to think over what to say next before he asked, "How's Cassie?"

"I don't know," James admitted. "I didn't get to talk to her without the cops around. I honestly don't know how _any _of them are. America took out the guy's buddy that was just as nasty. I don't know how anyone is though. I saw America take the other girls to the tower. I think Jan was waiting for them at the corner."

"We'll head over to the Bartons later, then. I'm sure Clint and Natasha are waiting to hear if they need to help us move." Scott took a deep breath and let it out. "James, you were incredibly, _incredibly _lucky that Officer Wright is a mutant too. You get that, right?"

James nodded, his gaze on the ground.

"You know the security we put in place is there for a _reason_, James. I'm glad you have a group of friends, and I don't want you to lose that, but I need you to be responsible. The Avengers don't always remember how different it is for us - and their kids have no reason to know either, outside of Katie and Lexi."

"I know," James agreed quietly.

Scott nodded and let his breath out in a rush. "I'll talk to Stark. Officer Wright was right; you do need to lay low for a while. Let's you and I go fishing." He smiled lightly. "It would do us both some good, and besides, it would let Natasha watch for any activity at either of our houses while we, ah, _don't _celebrate your heroic rescue. Or something."

James looked up at Scott with a concerned expression. "No. Really. Is this a lay low thing or are we scouting somewhere to go?"

Scott shook his head. "I've had the next place scouted since Luke crashed the soccer match. This really is just you and me laying low." He paused, then added, "And I meant what I said: I'm not mad about you standing up for Cassie. It's the security breach that I'm worried about. But with that guy? You protected your friend from someone who meant to do her harm."

"Just sorry I didn't put him through the stupid wall," James grumbled.

Scott smirked. "Hey," he said, "once we get out where no one's around to interrupt or overhear us, I'm going to have to tell you about the guys I _did _put through walls," he said, tapping the side of his temple. "It's a hazard of living in this family: we can't stand aside when the people we love are in trouble."

James was pensive as he weighed out how to say what he really _thought_. "I can't even say it was that, Dad." James looked up at him with a perfectly open expression. "I thought the guy was talking about someone else that wasn't even in our group at first, but if he would have touched her … I don't think it would have gone any different. Not with what I was getting off the guy."

Scott looked thoughtful for a long time and then reached out to affectionately ruffle James' hair and rest his hand at the side of James' neck. "That… you get from Logan and K," he said. "If they saw a kid in trouble or a man trying to take advantage of a woman, nothing I said could have stopped either of them. Not that I would have tried hard knowing what they were stopping, mind you… but it was like a switch flipped with them." He smiled tightly, the same way he always did when he talked about the teammates he'd lost. "It was honestly one of their best qualities. Made me want to be better about standing up for everyone around me, too."

James honestly didn't know what to say - or how to react to that, so instead, he simply _didn't_. Not when he knew that it was rare for Scott to talk about them like that, and he wasn't sure how he felt about either of them. Especially if it was anything that _might _have been tied in to the mutation.

Finally, Scott let his shoulders drop and got to his feet, offering James a hand up. "Let's go down the hall and let the Bartons know we're heading out and asking them to watch the places for a while. I'm sure they're worried - and we should check on Cassie, too. Her dad will probably have a fit when he hears the story."

"Clint was having trouble getting the cops to listen to him," James said.

"Clint is a former criminal with very little facial recognition from the public in spite of his position on the team. He also still hasn't learned how to speak to the cops like an Avenger and not a kid trying not to get caught stealing. This does not surprise me," Scott said dryly.

"That kind of explains everything," James agreed quietly as they crossed the hall. "Can we tell him I'm going to super-max?"

Scott smirked. "Nah, we'll tell him you're running away to the circus. He'll have a stroke right in the kitchen."

"Awesome. As long as I'm not the _archer._"

* * *

"Don't you love how we didn't do anything wrong, but we still end up being grounded somehow?" Nate asked as he dropped into the seat next to his sister. They'd gotten the message from their Dad, who assured them that it was only a precaution to keep all three of them more or less grounded for their own safety, and how as an extra step in paranoia, he and James _weren't _coming by the school on the way out of town so as not to draw attention to the school in case they were seen or followed.

"We're not grounded."

"He's taking James fishing, you know that's what's going on, right?"

"And?"

"And … when I get busted it's actual grounding."

"And the last time I got in any trouble, Ororo took me out for ice cream," Rachel pointed out. _It's all just a matter of how it happened. You _fight _with Dad. This? Come on. Mia told us what the story was. This trip to the woods is just as much for Dad to relax a little as it is to get James away from anyone that might see him. And we're only on restriction because they might look this way to find him. It's a precaution, baby brother. _

_Yeah, I know, it's just … of course he ends up taking a vacation as soon as the angel-child steps out of line a little. _

_It's not a vacation. _

_It's not a punishment either. And blowing up Natasha's security isn't good for any of us. _

_True. But … _

_Cassie didn't deserve what happened, I know. _

_And you wish you'd gone on the fishing trip, _Rachel surmised. _Dad will take you if you want him to. Might do you good. _

_I don't want to go fishing, Rach. And they're probably going to end up being gone for James' birthday the way this is rolling. Which … okay, that's fine. We did your sweet sixteen in Oregon and we had my last three with Alex in Hawaii - and James has never asked to be anywhere special for his, I just … I guess maybe I wanted to do something with all of us for that this year?_

Rachel sighed heavily, but wasn't sure how best to reassure her little brother. Not when nothing she said seemed to make a dent in how miserable he was. "You have to tell Dad if you want to do something with just him," Rachel said finally.

"Yeah, I know," Nate agreed with a heavy tone. "It's James too, though. I'm so tired of watching him act like he doesn't want anything ever. And it's hard to try and change that when we're here and supposed to be working on control."

"So," Rachel said turning his way fully and holding his gaze. "Let's get to work. We have no where to go, neither one of us has any distractions … and I can help you get a handle on it if you let me." _And that would mean getting back to your teams and your friends. _

Nate finally cracked a smile and nodded to himself. "Thanks, Rachel."

"Any time, little brother."

* * *

The trip to the cabin Scott had picked out was a long one, and once they got there, James and Scott had a whole lot to get done just to use the place. It was one of the Howletts' old places, though it had been mostly untouched since their death. Natasha had been there shortly after everything had gone south for the X-Men and packaged up most of the personal effects decorating the place. Not because she was getting rid of it, more because at the time, she didn't know which place Scott wanted to use to hide the kids - so she prepped several by going through them and putting away most of the photos and momentos that might have triggered a very young and freshly traumatized James.

But she'd also put away most of the soft items - blankets and pillows were packaged up in heavy plastic and secured in trunks that mice couldn't get in to destroy. So while Scott was clearing out the dust, James pulled in the firewood from the shed. And while Scott started the fire in the old wood burner, James was put to work setting up the beds for the two of them to use for their stay, only … as he was making the bed in the master bedroom, he went still slowly.

There was a scent clinging to the blankets that was deeply familiar, but mostly forgotten and James was honestly confused as to what the scent meant … or why he felt so calm on breathing it in. It was an odd combination on its own … spruce that didn't match the scents of the wood walls around him mingled with cigar smoke, motor oil, fresh hay, ozone, and leather.

He closed his eyes and stood there with the blanket halfway to his nose, overwhelmed with the desire to just … curl up and wrap himself in it and _sleep_. It didn't take him very long to convince himself to do exactly that, either, and before Scott had the fire going well, James kicked off his shoes and crawled into bed with the blanket clutched around himself tightly. He rubbed his face into the pillow, trying to make the scent last longer, trying to surround himself in it more completely - and as his chest began to feel a crushing weight and his eyes prickled at the edges from a scent he couldn't even fathom letting go, James fell asleep.

It took Scott a little while to catch up to him, and in all honesty, he didn't even think to look for him until the fire was crackling away cheerfully and putting out a fair bit of heat, and then, his only thought was to get dinner going, but when he found James curled up in a ball like he used to do all the time as a three year old, Scott was hit by a similar pang in his chest that James had felt. Even to his nose, Scott could smell the scents on the blanket, though no where near as acutely as James had to have. The way his nose was buried in the fabric was like watching him as a three year old again when they had first gone to Logan's cabin … but this was K's place near Lake Superior. It was the spot _she _had preferred to hide out at when she needed a break.

He backed out of the room slowly, deciding on the spot not to mention it at all to James unless he asked. He had no idea if James would make the connection on his own, or if he knew already where they were. All Scott knew for sure was that James wouldn't have crashed that hard that fast unless he _needed _it. And one thing Scott refused to do was take that away from him if he needed it.

Dinner could wait. Fishing could wait. This? This was obviously long overdue.


	28. Rocky Waters

**A/N - special love and thanks to Practically An Avenger for the marathon spree. We ADORE your reviews, my friend. Keep 'em coming.**

* * *

**Chapter 28 - Rocky Waters**

* * *

America was starting to notice a pattern, and as much as she hated to admit it, this pattern was not favorable to her campaign to get a little more traction with Kate.

She didn't think Kate was aware of the fact that she'd given herself away with the casual mention that Nate had broken up with his idiot girlfriend, but things had definitely changed since then. Kate wanted to go to more group activities. She was finding reasons to hang out with the Summers family more. Which had been fine when they were double-dating with James, but they'd yet to go out just the two of them in ages, and America was starting to get the hint.

So she dropped in on Kate at the tower, smirking to herself when Kate's immediate reaction was to break into a grin, rush over, and kiss her. That was the great part about Kate; she wore her heart on her sleeve. So, the fact that she was in love with someone else was obvious – but what was also obvious was that Kate liked America, too.

But America didn't like to be anyone's second choice, no matter how gorgeous the girl.

She caught Kate and spun her around in a kiss before she set her down again and met her gaze with a crooked but tired smile. "How's the Westchester club?"

"Doing alright," Kate said in a sigh. "Nate's still convinced James is their dad's favorite, which is crap, because he doesn't remember seeing Scott going to every sports game of his with the Proud Dad Look, but hey, that's the usual drama with them, really."

America smiled more broadly, leaning against the gate to the tower with a quiet laugh. "Already practicing to get in good with the in-laws, huh?"

Kate turned a brilliant color that America wished she'd put on her face for a different reason. "What are you – we're not even old enough-"

"Be real, Princess," America said, unable to stop herself from cupping Kate's waist as she shifted closer, "you're still hung up on the idiot. And now that he's single, you're practically tripping over yourself wishing you were dating him."

Kate's eyes widened, and she shook her head. "America-"

"Hey, I don't play second-best," America said. "I'll still be here for you. I mean, you're the best friend I've got in this crummy city, and someone's got to be there in case this whole thing with the idiot blows up in your face, right?" She grinned crookedly. "But you and I aren't going to get off the ground – not figuratively, anyway – until you figure out what's going on with you and him. So go figure it out. If he hurts you, I'll pound him and then kiss you until you forget all about him, deal?"

Kate stared at America for a long time before she let out a noise from the back of her throat and then flung her arms around America to pull her into a tight hug. "You are just – just – so amazing, you know that? And I really do like you – you know that too, right?"

America smirked and gestured to herself with one hand. "What's not to like?"

Kate laughed and hugged her tighter, then pulled her into a long kiss that America absolutely wasn't going to stop until Kate pulled back. "So… we can still totally hang out all the time and make fun of stupid people, right?"

"Like I said: I'm not going anywhere, Princess," America chuckled. "You just figure yourself out. I know what I want; you gotta do the same."

Kate shook her head and kissed her cheek. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"Hey, you're a fierce, gorgeous, slightly-confused, confident princess with the arms of an archer and the heart of a lover. Like I wasn't going to pick you up."

"And you're a powerful force of nature who loves as deeply as she kicks through reality," Kate said, blushing bright red. "If we're not at least best friends, what's even the point of the universe letting two of the most amazing girls on the planet meet up?"

America smiled as she put her other hand on Kate's waist. "How opposed are you to a break-up makeout? Because I gotta say, Princess, you're making it hard to be mature and let you figure out your feelings when I'd rather just fly off with you and show you the best time you've ever had."

"Not even a little bit opposed," Kate said, her eyes glittering with the kind of excitement that always had America thrilled.

And with that kind of open invitation just sitting there, America wasn't going to squander the opportunity. So, she pulled Kate into a kiss long enough that they were pressed into each other, and then she took them to the sky for some privacy.

* * *

The holidays passed in a daze, like they so often did. Juggling everyone's schedules got slightly easier with the big break at the end of December, but everyone's family obligations ended up making _fun _things like dating or going out as a group next to impossible. And when the Summers disappeared to who-knows-where to meet up with the _other _Summers clan, that just meant that they were more unreachable for a longer stretch. Which made it _seem _to those that wanted to spend time with them as if they were on an even harsher lockdown than usual.

But … the start of the new semester was met with bright cheer for May Parker at the very least. She was lucky in that her powers were almost entirely physical, so learning how to hold back wasn't super hard for her to do. _Not _overreacting to spider senses was a totally different story, but she had gotten her reactions down to a much more reasonable response than the full on Parker startle that she'd been doing when it had first manifested.

She still wasn't quite ready to return to public school, but she was pretty certain that she was ahead of Nate Summers, anyhow. A fact that she loved to flaunt to Nate at every single opportunity. And the fact that her father had agreed to let her join the Avengers when she was old enough - and if she was cleared by those 'in the know when the time comes' had her on cloud nine. She had _permission _to be a hero - just like her dad! And she wanted to not only share the joy, but do a little preemptive recruiting too. And she knew just the newly un-grounded, freshly back to the city guy she wanted in on it. He _needed _the boost, after all.

Especially since he'd gone from being tons of fun to almost dreary- and he flat out refused to break any of the security protocols in place. It was bad enough that even Black Widow seemed downtrodden that James hadn't even _tried _to push. And he had put zero thought into returning to the prank war with Tony, either. It was obvious to May, at least, that her guy was depressed. And she was pretty sure she needed to do _something _about the nasty case of Stockholm syndrome he came back with after spending a couple weeks in the woods alone with his dad_. _He hadn't even wanted to do anything for his birthday after he spent it in the woods, either. And since they'd disappeared not long after their return for Christmas, May had plenty of time to dream up ways to pull him out of his funk.

Stranger still, her father had even _agreed _that James wasn't acting like he should - far too serious, and as Peter Parker had said - 'in extreme danger of becoming entirely too grumpy' at the rate he was going. _All _the adults had had the same basic reaction to the mess that went down around Cassie Lang. Shock had been quickly followed by equal parts fear for James' safety and pride in his actions, though most of the adults were being fairly quiet on the details on _why_. At least, they _were _… then May caught her father calling James 'a kinder, gentler, less stabby Wolverine' and she found herself getting lost in the idea of them joining the team together.

Her father had pictures of himself and James' dad on his desk at home from when they were Avengers, and she started doodling all of their hypothetical team … She was supposed to be working on her homework, but watching James working so intently on upgrading her dad's webshooters had gotten her mind wandering. She saw herself as Spider-Girl, Kate as the Purple Widow, Cassie as Ant-girl, Dani Cage dressed like her parents in leather gear and flat refusing to use a code name of any kind, and James as their new Wolverine … though she was playing with the name and the costume. Yellow and Red were too jarring next to each other, after all.

"Maybe blue," she said to herself as she continued to doodle, which was enough to draw James' attention.

He looked up at her, frowning when he saw the almost vacant expression on her face, so he set his tools down and decided to sneak over to see what it was that had her so distracted. She didn't know he was there until he was nearly on top of her, and then she startled so badly, she dropped her notebook that she'd been doodling in. James laughed - _finally _wearing a broad smile on his face as she started to berate him for scaring her, though that fell to the wayside when James' smile slipped.

He'd picked up the notebook for her and was staring at the drawings she had - the little codenames for most of their friends - some of them scratched out several times and re-written slightly differently from dozens of childhood conversations born of daydreams and wishful thinking. "What's this?" James asked, though he was watching her as he asked.

"Oh, just a few ideas. Watching you go all … _rawr _on that idiot with Cassie got me thinking."

"About what?" James asked. "Being Avengers?"

"Well … yeah."

"No," James said before he dropped the notebook on the couch and started back for his workbench. "Not unless you know another James that you're putting in that costume."

"They're not costumes, they're _uniforms_," May said before she hopped over the back of the couch and followed him. "And you need the right uniform for the job."

James shook his head as he got back to work. "Pretty sure I've already set myself up with a job if I want it. Right here, in the lab that Stark built for me."

"Yes. Exactly! Tony would love to have you on the team!"

James set his tools down and held her gaze seriously. "No, May. That's never gonna happen."

"But you're already so _good at it!_"

James was shaking his head and the set of his mouth was grim. "Forget it, Mayday," James said in a tone she'd never heard him use before.

"But … what harm would it do? You _are _good at this, James! Think about it! Anyone with the powers you have _should _use them to help people. _Otherwise you're not doing everything you can to stop idiots like the ones that went after Cassie._"

James could feel his temper rising faster than he wanted to admit. And he had yet to get upset with May. "You think I haven't thought about that already?" James snapped. "There's more going on than just stepping up for those in trouble, May. I _can't _look at things the same way you do. Your family's motto doesn't apply the same way to me and my family."

"Yes it does!" May threw her hands in the air and let out a groan of frustration. "I get being anxious, but _James_, you know you could try it out and if you didn't like it, you don't _have _to stay with the team! It's not like you'd be the first one to decide it wasn't for them!"

"You don't _get it_," James shot back, his work on the webshooters forgotten. "_You _could try it and back off. _Kate _and Cassie could, _but I cant._"

"Is this all because of the whole _mutant _thing your family's so paranoid about?" May challenged, hands on her hips and obviously ready to fight. "Hank is a mutant and he's been on the team for forever! And he's physically mutated, too! You don't have that to worry about!"

James stared back at her for a long while, then grudgingly went back to finish the adjustments he had been making before he said something he'd regret. "It's not just the mutant thing, May. I _know _I told you about some of the crap that follows us. You _know _about the security Natasha and Tony have in place. You _know _it's not _just the mutant thing_."

"But if you were an _Avenger-_"

"_No_," James growled out, slamming one hand on the bench. "That stupid badge doesn't solve _anything_. If it did, do you think I'd still be under lockdown _in their tower_?" His tools clattered on the ground and the two of them glared at each other for a long moment before May huffed and grabbed her backpack.

"I'm going to finish studying where people are more _reasonable _and not so _delusional_."

"Good. Tell your Dad I'm almost done with his gear," James called back - still ticked off, and not willing to even think about cooling off. He'd purposely not been overly descriptive with May about the trouble he could be in if he was caught, but he also knew that he'd told her that people who used mutants as weapons _would want him _given even a miniscule chance … and now he could see that she thought he was just paranoid.

She didn't get it. _At all. _And it was clear that it wasn't a matter of not knowing. It was a matter of not being able to grasp what it was that not only her mutant friends were dealing with, but her boyfriend, in particular. And he honestly couldn't wrap his head around how she didn't _believe him _that there was a major issue. It had him ready to pick a fight. Especially after he'd spent so much time at his mothers cottage breathing in scents that _had _to have been all that was left of his parents. So yes. James was a little touchy about how much people like those running the weapons groups had cost his family.

So while May flounced off, tossing her hair over her shoulder, James nearly broke a tooth as he tried to swallow the growl down and got back to work picking up his discarded tools and then going back to the webshooters.

May, however, ended up going right to her father, who looked irritated at the way May was throwing things around and huffing to herself. "What's wrong today, sweetheart?" Peter asked - earning himself a deadly scowl from his daughter before she dropped her backpack - and then launched into a detailed retelling of what had just happened in the lab from _her _point of view. Which was a lot less flattering of an opinion than what had actually happened.

"I don't understand how someone who's been training and working for _so long _can't understand why they _need _to go be a hero! He doesn't even try and he does it!"

"May, sweetheart, it's not that simple," Peter said, not understanding how it was that he was _defending _her boyfriend to her.

"I swear, Dad, if you say it's the whole mutant thing I'm going to scream."

"It's not! Well it is. But it's not - you know what? It's just … it's not as simple as you think, okay? It's not _just _the mutant thing."

"But _you _always said that we have to live up to our responsibility - and that means that if you can protect someone and stop bad things from happening, you need to! Great power comes with great responsibility - thats like … our family _crest_!"

Peter blew out a breath and ran his hand through his already messy hair. "Sit down, May," he said, then took her hands in his as he tried to keep their conversation somewhat private. "I know it's hard to understand, but James keeping out of things and laying low _is _being responsible. For him."

"Dad."

"No, hear me out. His parents - both of them - they were used by people to do horrible things. And even though the Phoenix destroyed the labs and the research centers and … pretty much everyone involved that she could … the idea behind it didn't go away. James is making the right move by staying off the radar. If they got a hold of him …"

"They won't."

"They _could_," Peter said with a bit more force. "I know you think the world of him, May, but he's still a kid. His Dad was the the toughest, meanest, hardest to deal with person I ever met, but they managed to use him _anyhow_. _James is just a kid_ \- and I don't care how good he is, he's nowhere near what his parents were at their peak and they _still _got caught. If someone wanted to take that kid down … he wouldn't stand a chance." He took her by both shoulders so he could look her in the eyes more clearly. "And sweetheart, you do _not _want to see what happens to him if someone gets a hold of him. He's right. Don't push him into being on the team. He can still save lives and make a difference doing what he does right here, safe in the lab."

May stared at him for a long moment. "_I can't believe you're on his side!_"

Peter stared after her. "How is _that _what you took out of that statement?!"

"You don't even like him," May snapped. "And you're supposed to be on my side, Dad!"

"May, I'm not going to agree with you if you're wrong," Peter said, but that only had her looking and sounding that much more angry as she stomped away to find someone who would commiserate with her.

Which left a few people staring at the scene and Peter feeling like he had to _say _something. So, he quietly turned and made his way over to James' lab. He let himself in, and the instant he did, James looked up, sighed, and let his shoulders drop. But he didn't wait for Peter to get started before he spoke up.

"Timing's good," James said, hoping that Peter wouldn't try to talk to him about joining up, too. "Just wrapping this up. Should get more out of the cartridges and they can fire faster now."

"That's great," Peter replied as he came over to pick one up and try it out while James was finishing up the second one. "But not why I came in."

James carefully kept from looking up at Peter. "Alright. Go ahead. I'm listening, but if you're going to harp at me to join up, I'm gonna tell you that Tony's already offered up a few solutions that I've turned down. And my Dad's worked too hard to keep me safe just for me to turn around and give him the finger for a spandex bodysuit."

"Okay, first of all," Peter said, holding up one finger. "It's not just spandex, okay? It's reinforced with vibranium mesh and -" He stopped when he saw the dry look James was giving him. "- not the point. Fine. Secondly - and more importantly, I wasn't going to push you, and I wasn't going to lecture. As it happens … I agree with you and your Dad, okay? I just wanted you to know that May isn't getting this from me. It's all … we've tried to protect her from the bad stuff. The worst stuff, anyhow, and I know it's hard to explain how bad it can get to people outside of the loop- your _father _didn't ever talk about it, so I-"

"You're not telling me anything I don't know," James said. "And I'd rather not talk about my father if it's all the same to you, Mr. Parker."

Peter's eyebrows went up high and fast. "Oh. We're doing the formal thing. You must be upset then."

James dropped his gaze as he shrunk back on himself. "I'm just trying to- nevermind."

"Hey. If it makes you feel any better, _I _think you're doing the right thing. All the way around! It's a lot harder than anyone wants to admit when your friends and your girlfriend are pressuring you."

"I just know that it would be bad for everyone if any of those weapons programs got a hold of me or my brother and sister."

Peter began nodding his head in fervent agreement. "You're entirely right, and on behalf of the rest of the Avengers, the population of New York, and the world in general - thanks. Just … keep it small. Point those heroic tendencies like you have been - at creepy jerks who are literally begging for it. Just … don't get caught next time."

"That sounds suspiciously like something an Avenger _shouldn't _say."

"To … a criminal, _yes_, but to a little budding hero that is trying to not be turned into a mindless weapon full of razor sharp awful? Perfectly acceptable." James made a face at that and hesitated before searching for something to do. "And I made it weird again." Peter sighed. "I'll tell you one thing," he said as he picked up everything James had come up with - including the new recipe for webbing. "When it came to your Dad? Your biological dad, that is - it didn't matter how bad it looked, I knew if he was with me, we were going to get out of it somehow."

James' shoulders dropped a little more and he turned toward Peter, frowning at him. "That seems to be the repeating theme," James said in a perfectly neutral tone. "But I didn't ask."

Peter looked more disappointed than he realized. "No. I guess not. Okay. So. Good talk. I'm here if you ever feel like just quietly glowering at me or something." He skittered out of the lab, but that only left James behind trying to decide how to even process that. It wasn't like it was the first time that he'd been told he was doing things like Logan did. And James didn't mind doing things that he thought were _right_. But he did take issue with feeling like he had no choice in how he was reacting to people or situations, so every time someone looked pleased that he'd reacted like his parents, James retreated a little more.


	29. Joy And Angst

**A/N - Practically An Avenger ... I love the faith you have in our Spider couple. And I love the reviews, you're quickly becoming a favorite reviewer. I hope you stick with us because in a short chapter or two ... It's going to be a whole different ballgame.**

* * *

**Chapter 29 - Joy And Angst**

* * *

Even if America had basically given Kate the go-ahead to figure out her feelings with Nate, Kate didn't go running straight to Nate or anything. That would be _undignified_. And she had been raised by the _Black Widow_.

No, what she did was go to Westchester more often to "visit Lexi," wearing some cute clothes that she knew drew attention to all the right things about her appearance - and openly projecting the fact that she and America were on a break.

Okay, so it wasn't _quite _dignified either, but, well, she wasn't her mother.

Still, even with how much she was projecting, Nate didn't seen to take any hints until just before the Summers took off for Christmas, when Kate more or less threw a sprig of mistletoe at him and kissed him full on the mouth. Because if he wasn't going to make a move, she _would_. And if he _still _wasn't interested, then forget it. She had a gorgeous girlfriend she could go back to and know that Nate Summers just wasn't good enough to keep up with her.

For a long moment, Nate just stared at her, and then, he broke into a crooked grin and pulled her into a long kiss in return. "For the record - this isn't some weird rebound thing, right?"

"Oh my gosh, is _that _why you weren't taking my _massive hints_, you _dork_!" Kate hit him in the center of his chest. "You're lucky you're cute, because wow."

"I don't know … got a wow either way."

Kate rolled her eyes. "There is a different between 'wow, you're cute' and 'wow, you're stupid,' and you tread a _fine line_, mister."

Nate grinned but hadn't stepped back from her either. "Hey, for all I knew, you were projecting for Rachel, not me."

"You're an idiot." Kate shoved him in the shoulder. "But if you take me out on a real date, I'll overlook that."

Once more, Nate's grin widened. "You're on."

* * *

"Why does Angel look like he's getting ready to face down a monster?" Mia asked as she walked into her mother's office. She stopped in the doorway, her tail still behind her as she watched Warren walk away with his feathers slightly ruffled and his wings stiff behind him.

"Because he's not used to being burdened with such responsibility," Ororo replied with a warm smile. "Even though I told him it was only for two weeks."

"But … what?" Mia asked, turning to her mother with wide eyes even as Ororo approached her calmly.

"My beloved daughter, you need to go upstairs and pack your bags. We're going to take a short trip to my homelands, and to visit an old friend. Be sure to dress for warm weather."

"Wait. Hold up. _Wait._" Mia was grinning in spite of herself. "We're taking a vacation? Since when do we take vacation time?"

"Since I realized that you should get to see something more impressive than the dirty streets of New York," Ororo said before she kissed Mia on the forehead and walked by her. "Pack quickly. Our Maker has the jet ready to go. He's only waiting on us."

Mia was on her toes for the whole flight, half holding her breath as her leg jiggled. She was excited - _so _excited - to get out and to maybe even get to _socialize _with people that didn't know her parents and were also second gen superheroes.

When they finally started to circle around for the landing, Mia couldn't keep her excitement under control. She was grinning broadly -moreso as they circled lower and lower, and by the time they were on the ground, she was bouncing in her seat, wide-eyed and at the edge of squealing.

Ororo and Forge shared a smile - particularly since Mia was doing her best and still acting like the excited kid that she was. She so rarely got to travel and to see the world … sure, she'd gotten to see where Forge was from - and enjoyed every moment on the reservation where what was left of his family lived - but it was an entirely different kind of sweeping wind-swept plain in Montana with the Rocky Mountains looming in the distance. This … this was her mother's homeland - or close enough to it. And the African plains were something else entirely.

The colors were unbelievable, for one thing. The oranges and deep warm reds made everything else seem dull by comparison. Everything reflected the orangey glow. It was so distractingly vivid that she almost didn't realize that they were at the edge of a sprawling city that she didn't even _see _coming in.

"Where are we?" Mia asked in a breath. "I didn't know Africa had such big cities … I mean, I knew it had cities, I just mean …"

"We're in Wakanda," Ororo said, a sedate aura emanated around her as she closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh air. Without thinking of any consequences for the first time in a very long time, Ororo gently let her arms extend at her sides as the wind around her picked up and lifted her skyward. She didn't fly high, but clearly, she had needed to fly a little bit. For her own sanity.

It wasn't until she was well into the air though, before Mia called out to her. "Looking good, Mom! Mind taking someone with you next time?"

Ororo paused and turned her way, blushing high on her cheeks - not that anyone saw it for as high up as she was. "Of course. What was I thinking?"

"Likely, that you were glad to be back," Forge answered.

Mia looked between her parents as her parents gazed longingly at each other. The relationship was certainly on equal footing, but there was something about the way that Forge didn't even attempt to hide his open near-worship of his wife that had Mia pining for someone to look at her like that. She just didn't know how that would ever happen when she wasn't able to leave the institute … except in cases like this, of course, when her parents totally blindsided her. And she was going to soak in every single skyscraper, tower, and friendly face she came across.

* * *

For the past several months, James had noticed a marked change in how things _felt _at the tower. The Avengers were the same, as always, but those going in and out of the tower were a little … off. America hadn't really been around as much, and Dani had started up in a new school that meant her time at the tower was less and less. Most of the kids near his age were going to Westchester to deal with their power sets, too, so that meant less and less kids were around - which was okay. Except that when there was a break - like at Christmas or Spring Break - all the kids that _should _have been at the tower for some reason weren't.

Again, James wouldn't have found it too odd, except for the fact that May was among those not showing up - even when she _could_. And considering how much she'd always pushed for more time, the change was noticeable. When she finally appeared on the last weekday of Spring Break after not answering his texts for the past few days, James could see what was coming. And he wasn't exactly looking forward to the visit. He _really _likes her, and he'd spoiled her every chance he got as best he could. Still … things had been odd since the beginning of the year, but it wasn't until _now _that it was just … weird.

He looked up as she approached, though she was moving stiffly and didn't look like she was at ease _at all_ as she stood across the bench from him, watching and remaining quiet. When he set his tools down, it all happened very quickly.

"I think there's a better person out there for both of us. This isn't working for me anymore," May said, though she looked half upset as she sid it. "Are you okay?"

James blinked a couple of times then chose to cope the best way he knew how - at the time. "Yeah. I'm fine. Thanks for letting me know." Though he definitely was not alright, he wasn't about to make a big deal over it. Definitely not in front of anyone.

She took a step toward him looking like she was going for a hug, but James stepped back at that. "You don't need to do that. You should finish your break with people you want to be around. I have work to finish up anyhow. I get it. It's fine, Mayday."

May looked equal parts worried and vindicated at that though. "Then I guess I'll see you around. Coffee with the group one of these days, right?"

"Sure," James replied, watching her out of the corner of his eye as she left - and then as soon as she was gone, he set his tools down and sat down himself. He had zero drive to even try and keep working now, and a glance at the clock showed him it would be a while still before it was time to _go_. So instead of speaking up, or trying to put it aside, he made his way over to the couch and dropped onto it to stare out the mirrored windows for a while. He was pretty well convinced that touching anything he was building would end up causing an explosion at this point, so it was best to just … not. At least he had the weekend at home ahead of him, away from the tower. It would be easy enough to isolate, anyhow.

But he didn't have nearly as long to wait as he thought. Steve showed up a little early to give him a ride home because his dad wanted to make the most of their weekend before break was over - which undoubtedly meant intensive family time. The ride home was mostly silent - save for anything that Steve said, or tried to say, and when James walked in the door, Nate and Rachel were already elbow deep in trying to make dinner for the family without burning the house down.

They were having a blast - laughing and joking both verbally and telepathically while they punched some pizza dough into submission and tossed little shreds of cheese at each other.

James watched them from the living room for a moment as he hung his keys up and took off his shoes. Of course they'd be up to something like this when he wanted to put some headphones in and take a nap.

"Katie is on her way over," Nate called out. "You should call May, we can make a night of it. Dad's hoping for equal numbers when we get to the games."

"Yeah, no, that's not gonna happen. I'll just sit it out this time around," James said. "I've got … stuff to do." As soon as he'd said it, he knew it didn't sound right. He wasn't enrolled anywhere. He had no more degrees on deck at the moment to hide in. So James didn't wait around for them to poke holes in his story. And since they were properly blown off - and in good moods … and especially since the last thing he wanted to do was draw attention by being the quiet, broody one, he left his siblings to themselves. He was accused of being too quiet often enough as it was. But he didn't make it all the way to his room upstairs before Scott called out to him, halfway up the stairs as he followed.

"What happened?" he asked, a look of concern on his face, though not nearly so deeply etched in as the last time Scott had felt compelled to quiz him.

"Nothing too major," James said, though he glanced toward the bottom of the stairs, sure that his siblings would be coming around sooner than later. "May and I split up, and I'm not in the mood to drag everyone down, so I thought I'd just head up, listen to some music and read … or something." He held up both hands, even with the earbuds dangling from one. "I'm fine, Dad. I promise. I just don't want to talk about it and I don't want to be around the group. Not tonight."

Scott nodded slowly. "Alright. You know I'm here if you change your mind."

"I know," James agreed. "But you know I'll be here when the other two are back to school - so … have some fun with them, please. I doubt they'd be up to both of us kicking their butts up and down Bedford Avenue."

Scott smiled at that. "No, I don't think they'd handle it well either. I'll send up some pizza in a while."

"Thanks," James replied before he slipped into his room and dropped onto the bed with a weary sigh. Now that he was there, he was much more tired. But it was still early enough in the night that he could hear every little thing in the borough, so he put his earbuds in, put on something relaxing and soft, then closed his eyes as he tried to hide in the music all he way until he fell asleep.

An hour or so later, Rachel came up to check in on him and to bring him food. "Alright. What's going on?" she asked, waking him up as she dropped down next to him where he _had _been sleeping. Or trying to.

"Nothing overly important," James promised as he took out the earphones and all the ambient sounds around him came rushing back, breaking the little bubble of isolation James had created for himself.

"James." Rachel gave him a dry look. "You're missing out on watching Katie on _cloud nine _even when Nate wins a round. It's adorable. She's still tickled that they're unofficially official. Come on. If you don't want to tell me, then show me."

"Not much to tell - _or show_," James said, though he settled in on his side so they could talk - a sure indicator to Rachel that he was more affected by the breakup than he'd admitted to.

"Okay," Rachel said, dipping her head down to watch his expression better. Because he was blocking her from peeking or checking in, about the only indicator she had to know how he was doing was his facial expressions and body language. And he was being guarded. "Mind telling me what happened then? Because I don't understand. I thought you two had it together."

"She … she probably just got bored."

"Not even a possibility, little brother." Rachel shifted to sit cross legged on the bed to show _him _she had no plans to go anywhere. "So … I get not wanting to dwell on it, but … I need to know enough to make sure Dad stays back if you _want _him to."

"I dunno," James admitted. "Things have been off, I guess since we got back after Christmas. She's been hanging in for as long as she could. I don't blame her."

"But you haven't done anything wrong since then," Rachel said with a frown before she leaned forward slightly. "If you can't figure it out, maybe you can show me. I swear I won't tell anyone. I'll lock it up tight away from Nate. I can do that, you know."

James chewed on the inside of his lip for a long moment before he let out a breath and nodded. "Okay. Sure." He rested his head on his arm while Rachel resituated herself and reached over to rest her fingertips on his temples - and as soon as he'd opened his mind for her, she started looking for what had happened that James had _missed_, since clearly, he wasn't getting it.

What she wasn't expecting was the beginning of the end having been May trying to push him into being a hero. Rachel had to control her reaction since she and Nate had been low-key doing the same thing, but obviously James hadn't gotten that angry with _them_. And she had to wonder if he wasn't projecting some of that toward May. But … since she was seeing it through _his _eyes, she could see what he thought had been so obvious and she could sense the way he'd desperately _wanted _her to understand, even if his means of conveying his concerns and feelings weren't stellar. She could also see the moment that James _quit _trying to convince her of anything and simply shut down and drew a line in the sand. It was a look she and Nate hadn't seen much themselves, but the fire with which he defended his decision to avoid the hero lifestyle was strong. Which, if nothing else, gave her a little perspective on how _not _ to approach her little brother in the future when they got closer to being heroes … or more precarious - restarted the X-Men.

Rachel kept looking, surprised at how _involved _James and little May Parker were when no one was around - and how keenly hurt James was at her almost nonchalant rejection. And by the time that Rachel had seen all she could without _prying _into more personal things, she had to take a moment to consider it herself.

James sighed heavily when he saw the expression on Rachel's face, but he didn't break her concentration.

"I'd have to double check with May just to be 100% sure and to keep you from holding on to that instance of _incredible _misreading, but I don't think she got tired of you, little brother. I think she was comfortable with you, from what I saw. And I could see by watching her through your eyes that you really love her. You two … you had fun from the moment you got together, didn't you?"

"More or less," James admitted.

"But … she didn't understand your concerns. And I don't think she _could_."

"I know," James said. "I can't figure out how to explain it right."

Rachel was already shaking her head. "No, James, it's not up to you to show her that. It's not something she'll just _get._ And the fact that she dropped you like this? You'll find someone that's just as much fun, just as hard for you to say no to, just as full of light … but _hopefully_, next time it'll be someone who can understand your perspective without imposing their beliefs on you."

James nodded wordlessly, though he looked strained at the corners of his eyes, which Rachel took as her cue to lean over and wrap him up in a hug. The moment she got her arms around him, he returned the gesture and doubled down on the hug. Heartbroken was not a look she ever wanted to see on either of her brothers, especially when James had always been so open about showing the emotions that mattered.

He hadn't even realized how much he'd _needed _that contact until it had happened, and Rachel found herself getting upset on his behalf for a moment. Eventually though, he managed to get a firm grip over his emotions again. "Sorry," James said when the two of them let go of each other.

"No, no," Rachel said. "Don't do that. Don't apologize for being hurt. You might have seen in hindsight what was happening, but it was plain as day that you weren't expecting it when you came in tonight." She paused and considered her next words carefully. "You know, I don't want to upset you, but she was right about one thing, James." When he looked up to meet her gaze, it was clear he had no idea what direction Rachel was headed. "You _would _be amazing if you ever decided to be a hero."

Maybe," James conceded. "But a lot would have to be different before I could even think about it."

Rachel pulled over the dinner she'd brought up for him. "Then I guess I better get to work, huh?" She smiled crookedly as she decided to share with him something that even Nate didn't know yet. It seemed like the kind of thing that might cheer him up, after all. "I finally talked Dad into letting me start training to be an Avenger. There are a _lot _of conditions, of course-"

"Naturally."

"But when he heard how much I wanted to do this for _mom_ and for your parents, and Grampa Charlie … he didn't shoot me down."

"That's because he knows if there was anyone that could outstubborn the world into behaving like civilized folk, it would be you," James said.

Rachel smiled widely at that and their discussion drifted into more neutral territory as she quizzed him on what _he _thought he should be doing with his time. There was a moment of pure pride when he admitted that he'd considered being a doctor like Dr. Blue, but it was short lived when he continued to say that there was no way he'd be able to _honestly _consider it with the restrictions he had to live by in order to stay out of the wrong side of laboratories. But it only had Rachel thinking more about how she could change things.

How could she make it easier for her brother to try _living _again instead of just _surviving_? He was miserable without any real distractions now and she could see it _so easily. _And like any good big sister, she wanted to fix it for him. Nate had an easier time of it - even if he would never believe it. And she hated that James was giving up on doing things that would be _so good _for him. And out of _fear. _It didn't fit with his personality. Cautious, sure … but things really had changed for him after the Cassie incident.

"Well, if you could do anything, what would it be?" Rachel asked. It was a discussion they'd had since they were kids, but now as they got older it was becoming a wonderful litmus test to see where his head was.

James thought for a long while, until finally, he drew in a slow breath. "I think it would be best if I could just find somewhere to go miles away from anything and just … stay there."

"Alone?" Rachel honestly wasn't sure if his answer was still coming from the fresh heartbreak or if this truly was how James felt. It was always harder to tell with him.

He looked pensive as he nodded slowly.

"That … no. We wouldn't make it without you. Just. No."

"Rachel," James said, his chin tipped down even as he looked up at her with an expression that echoed Logan more accurately than he realized. "If it's not something I can do behind the scenes for the team, what can I _possibly _offer to anyone that doesn't put me out there with a sign on my forehead that screams out who I am? I can't change _what _I am, and I can't change my face. My options are very limited."

"And you don't want to work behind the scenes at the tower," Rachel surmised.

"I'm already tired of feeling like their mascot," James admitted.

"That wasn't a problem when you were going out giving Natasha heart attacks over strange girls and coffee."

"That … was stupid and reckless of me."

"You're allowed to make mistakes, James."

Again, she was rewarded with an incredibly dry expression before he projected out to her. _Rach. Of the short list of things I am allowed to do, screwing up is nowhere on the list. At all. As it stands, you _know _I'm going to end up talking to Rabbi Cohen while you guys are at school after all this. _

Rachel smiled to herself and couldn't help but tease. _That's not all bad - though he'll probably start trying to suggest good Jewish girls for you to date. _

_You mean good Jewish girls to _court_. _

_Same difference to him. _Rachel squeezed his arm. _Don't worry. He'll give you an appropriate mourning period before he starts bringing pretty girls over. _

James couldn't stop the bark of a laugh that slipped out at that. "Love you, sis."

"Love you too. Don't forget that."

"How could I?" James replied, which earned him a warmer smile from Rachel before she got up to leave him to his solitary dinner and to let him get lost in his music again. So far, Rachel had managed to beat any of her boyfriends to the punch when it came time to end things. This was just … rotten.

When she turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs, Nate and Kate were laughing hard and playing Uno, but Scott was waiting for her. "He'll be okay," Rachel told him quietly. "He's just in shock and hurt. He was in pretty deep with her."

Scott paused. "How deep?"

"It doesn't really matter now. They weren't anywhere close to old enough to be _serious _serious, but you know how James is. He gets _attached _when he starts to really care about someone," Rachel said. "He got the rug pulled out from under him, but he'll be okay. He's not doing anything wrong. He's just … trying to figure out what's next. That's all. Totally normal and not as dramatic as me when I got all upset and cut my hair super short."

"The buzz cut and rat-tail was a good look," Scott teased.

Rachel made a sound of disbelief from the back of her throat as her father chuckled. "Please just let him deal for a while before you let the Rabbi get a hold of him, please?"

"I'll give him some space," Scott promised.

* * *

The rest of the weekend was spent with Rachel playing bouncer to let James keep his peace and quiet. He barely left his room until Sunday afternoon - and that was because he knew without being told that Scott _really _wanted him to join the family for their now-traditional Sunday dinner together. And James wasn't about to interrupt _that _regardless of what he was dealing with. Especially when he knew that his siblings were going to be thrown back into their studies when they had so many other things on their minds.

But he was still quiet and barely kept engaged in the conversation. Not that there was a lot of room for him to join in when Nate was excitedly talking about how he was _going _to get control of his powers because he missed team sports _way _too much to stay out of it for another year.

It was the one time that Scott caught James smiling to himself, even if he had his chin tucked almost to his chest as he valiantly tried to hide from Nate the fact that he knew what Nate _really _missed.

And by the time that Rachel and Nate watched their dad and James head back down the road leaving Xaviers that evening after listening to Mia _gushing _about how wonderful her vacation was in Wakanda - how warm the people were there … and how it even though she'd been there for two weeks, she still felt exposed and scared walking in her own skin. After all that, Rachel had managed to have a good long time to weigh all of it out. So she was already in a mood by the time she actually stepped into the living room where there was a small group of kids with wings talking with Warren who, though he was telling them _again _why it was important to keep their muscles in shape, he was also highlighting how crucial it was for them to keep their heads down and limit themselves to controlled night flying.

The anxiety and misery the group of them were feeling was plain on every single face - Warren included, and as she stood in the doorway, Betsy broke into her thoughts. _Someone looks particularly displeased. Did something happen at home? _

Rachel turned on her heel, then crossed her arms as she headed for the kitchen with Betsy keeping pace. _No. I'm just … frustrated with all of this. _

_Which part is bothering you most right now? _

_Which part isn't? _Rachel countered. _Mia can't socialize and she clearly needs to, James is shutting himself down on possible things he can do because he's being too careful trying to keep from getting spotted by anyone - and all the mess that goes with that. Nate just wants to be back to _regular _school so he can play sports and be with Katie … I mean … _everyone here! Everyone! _Look at Warren! I'm sick of everyone being scared to live! _

_You know it's not for any reason other than safety_, Betsy replied, honestly concerned with how upset Rachel was.

_And that's the problem! _Rachel threw her hands up. "Why can't people just let us _live_?"

Betsy sighed. "You know it's more complex than what you're pretending it to be."

"It's really _not_," Rachel countered. "It's really really not. _How _can people be so _okay _with treating mutants like this? It's not okay to be a racist, but it's alright to hate us because we have powers?"

"Rachel .."

Rachel let out a growl of frustration. _Nate is an amazing athlete but he can't play sports because he's a mutant. James … if James was human instead of a mutant he'd be on the cover of _magazines _for how insanely smart he is but instead, he's practically a prisoner in Avengers' tower. _

_What about you? _Betsy challenged, already well aware that arguing with her wasn't going to be worth much at this point.

Rachel had her hands on her hips. _What about me? I'm joining the Avengers because the X-Men are defunct. I _will _find a way to turn this around. My brothers deserve better. _I _deserve better, Warren and Mia and every kid _here _deserves to be treated with respect that _they don't get _on the basis of one mutated gene? _"Screw that."


	30. First Place

**Chapter 30 - First Place**

* * *

James had spent a lot of time working at the tower after the fiasco with Cassie and all the fallout from dating little May Parker. Instead of getting into trouble, or acting like most kids his own age, he put his focus on the few things he could do while hiding away and powered through his studies and accrued several Stark-approved degrees while tinkering alongside Tony. In the process, he'd secured himself a spot at Stark Industries - and had saved up some money - though Scott assured him he could just keep to his studies, since it was no secret that as long as the kids were in school he could keep a close eye on them. For the most part.

There was a small adult freak out that happened after James helped his brother have a nice coffee date by distracting a girl that hated Kate but happened to flirt with James whenever she saw him. James didn't like the girl. But he did have a little fun with her. He even considered her offer to go on a real date that was just shy of a promise to get right to fooling around.

As soon as the two of them parted company, Nate couldn't help himself. "Okay. But why?"

"Why what?" James asked, frowning at his brother.

"Why are you making out with someone that evil?"

"She's not … she isn't evil," James said, rolling his eyes. "Not liking Kate isn't an instant qualifier for some kind of supervillain club."

"It so is," Kate giggled. "It so is and you know it is."

"Wait. Are you going to date her now?" Nate asked. "You might get drafted to the other side if you do."

"Oooh, that's why he's so reluctant to consider a t-e-a-m," Lexi said with a perfectly straight expression. "He wants to go evil."

"At least long enough to get in her pants," America added, which had Nate busting up laughing.

"Hey," James said, though Nate cut in laughing hard as he did so.

"Saying she started it isn't a good enough defense!" Nate laughed, but instead of trying to cut into the picking, James found himself thinking it over. Kate and Nate got their date … and James pretty well had a sure thing lined up if he followed through - which really only equated to making the call and setting it up.

But that line of thinking only lasted long enough for him to get back to the tower with Nate and Kate … far too slow to beat the picture that Lexi had sent ahead of them showcasing James kissing Isabella Frost.

He had no way of knowing that he'd have not only Natasha, but Tony, Jan, Steve, and Scott in full blown freak out just from one little kissing session. Until he heard the connections - namely the fact that Isabella's mother was Madame Masque. And her aunt was Emma Frost. Which meant both Tony and Scott were just a little sensitive on hearing even the name.

Given the chance to think it over, even with Nate dying laughing, James ended up going quiet for a week, kicking himself for his luck while carefully blocking out Rachel and Nate since … he really was considering taking Izzy out for more than just coffee. Sure, she hated Katie, her best friend was Arcade's daughter, and her family was evil, but she was very pretty and a good kisser. So there was a draw there .. even if it wasn't entirely on the up and up.

It made James second guess himself, and he was understandably more cautious after that, even if it put a dampener on his dating prospects. It didn't stop him, but it had him paranoid that he'd be picking up someone worse … and considering the kind of girls he was playing around with, it'd be just his luck if he ended up getting wrapped up with the daughter of Viper and the Red Skull. And the fact that he was half wondering what said girl would look like, and weighing out if her parents were a real deterrent was distracting in itself. In ways he didn't want to ruminate over.

But behaving was starting to wear on James - the constant study was stifling. He felt far too much like a bookworm when all he wanted to do when he couldn't chase a girl was run in the woods and sit by the edge of Lake Superior listening to the waves roll in off the big lake. But that would be a waste of his talents, too. After it was clear James was getting bored with what most people at the company would throw themselves into, and especially considering that the Frost girl was still looking for James, Tony started to pull the kid into the garage with him.

Tony took the time to teach him a little bit on how to upgrade and see how to take a perfectly amazing racecar and turn it into something honestly mind blowing. He had James helping to 'restore' a gorgeous old sports car that didn't have much wrong with it other than some neglect showing through the faded paint and ripped leather seats, though the engine was misfiring, too. But it was something to draw James' interest, and considering that he was slowly inching toward driving age, it had the young man thinking.

He was only fifteen, and he and Scott had talked about the idea of him getting a car of some sort, if nothing else, than to free up Scott to come and go now that Nate had finally returned to public school after mastering his powerset at Westchester. But after working with Tony on both a new car and an older one, James had come to a decision on his own without consulting anyone about it. He'd spent the past few months since his birthday looking through ads in the paper for a car.

It was probably the most typical of his age thing that he'd done in years, and once Scott had discovered what James was up to, he certainly wasn't going to put an end to it. Though, he had to admit to being curious about what James was looking for. Particularly when James wasn't making any notations on what was catching his eye or not. But Scott kept his distance, unsure if James was taking this kind of information to Tony, or if he was simply working on his own for this one.

The Summers family was settled in and having breakfast that quiet Sunday morning in Brooklyn. Rachel was making plans for graduation and Nate was plotting out his newest workout regimen for spring tryouts when Scott noticed that James once again had a whole book of car for sale ads, so he had to ask. "What are you looking at?" Scott couldn't hide the curiosity as he sat down with a cup of coffee. "Find the sports car you've been searching for yet?"

James made a face and shook his head. "Don't want anything like that. Too flashy. Draws way too much attention. Which would kill Natasha dead on the basis of having spent too much time with Tony." He flipped through a few pages - looking between two sections before he settled on something - and sat back in his chair, looking them all over more carefully.

"Fair," Scott said. "But he's not the only one around with an eye for sports cars. I had a great convertible when I was younger."

James smirked at that. "Yeah, that's a thought. I was kinda leaning that way. Sort of."

"Cute girl you're trying to impress?"

"Ah, no," James said, shaking his head. "Where would I meet her that wouldn't end up with her being a super creep? I've already dated my way through all the available or interesting Avenger's kids." Rachel snorted at that, then doubled down on her breakfast when both James and Scott looked her way. "And everyone else at Stark's place is too old for me."

"You know, you can go for coffee again," Rachel said. "You don't have to wait for someone else to go out and bribe them to get yours. I seem to remember you had pretty good luck at the coffee shops not that long ago that wasn't the daughter of Madame Masque."

"Even if she's still pining," Nate said with an ill-hidden grin. It was clear that he still thought that Izzy looking for his brother was the height of hilarity.

James shook his head and turned his focus back to the ads. "Too much chatter and I don't like the inducers."

"You can still go out without it if you're careful," Nate said, but then muttered out a soft 'nevermind' when Scott gave him a look.

"You go to the school every other weekend when Mia gets stir-crazy," Scott pointed out as he shifted his focus back to the subject at hand. Especially when he knew James was still catting around when given ample opportunity - and he wanted his son to take better care when it came to relationships of any kind.

"Okay, that's fair," James conceded, nodding. "But that hasn't really worked out too well yet. Megan still won't acknowledge my existence after that blew up." Nate snickered to himself again since he knew far more about that affair than he'd have wanted to. Dating 'Pixie' had been an unmitigated disaster between how jealous she'd gotten from other people flirting with James and the two of them getting caught causing trouble at the Institute when he went to visit. "And like I said," James continued, ignoring his brother's amused expression. "I'm not interested in impressing anyone. If I've got to do that to turn someone's head, then they're not looking at me. This isn't about girls."

"Too bad," Rachel said with a smirk. "The way Mia tells it, you have a following if you open your eyes. At least … if you pay attention to girls that don't have evil in their family history."

James gave her a dry look then rolled his entire body to turn away from her, which had Nate snickering. "I just want something that'll be good in the snow but still fun in the summer too." He looked up at Scott, though he hesitated before admitting to him "I was kind of looking at a Jeep, to be honest."

Scott blinked at him before he broke into a grin. "Seriously?"

"Okay wow, what did I do?"

"No, it's just…" Scott chuckled. "Yeah, I think a Jeep would be a great idea."

"Alright. Then … there's another problem," James said as he leaned toward Scott slightly. "Everything I find that isn't brand new off the line - which I don't want - needs some work. But I don't want to ask Tony to get involved even if I'm sure he would if I asked. He'd take it too far. So. Would you help me if I got something that's probably going to be worse than I think when I find it? I'm not talking about a total rebuild, just … you know. A lot of the stuff in here is suffering from neglect. And I know I don't know enough on my own to wing it."

"Yeah, absolutely," Scott said, still grinning widely. "I'll help you wrench on it."

"Oh, good," James said, letting out a breath. "I could afford to get a new one, but I don't really like the way they look inside." James made a face and looked uncomfortable. "It's hard to explain, but for something you can take the doors off of and pull a drain plug - leather seats and a big stereo, navigation… all those bells and whistles seem … dumb."

"No, no," Scott said. "That makes perfect sense."

"Okay, but … you're going to break your face and it's kind of freaking me out."

Scott reined in the smile by a fraction and leaned back. "It's just that your dad was always wrenching on a bike or a Jeep. I even helped him a few times."

James looked honestly surprised at that. "You're kidding."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he had a lot of the same reasons in mind that you do."

James smirked to himself and shook his head, since he had been hearing more and more stories about Logan as he began to resemble him more strongly with age. "Huh."

Scott smirked and reached over to ruffle James' hair. "I'm not surprised."

"So. Maybe … we could take a look at a few of them?" James slid the ads toward Scott. "There are a few that look interesting at least. And I want your honest opinion."

"Yes. Absolutely." Scott grinned.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to finish up at Xaviers like your sister?" Scott asked Nate as he got ready to re-register at the same High School that Clint and Natasha had chosen for Kate and Lexi.

"Dad. You know I've missed playing football," Nate said, rolling his eyes.

"And baseball and soccer and hockey," Scott said as he set the newspaper down on the table. Online articles had been growing in popularity, but no matter how many of their neighbors dropped the print copies, Scott couldn't seem to shake the habit of needing to see the news in print. "And I'll go to every single game when you join up, I just … "

"You're worried about the anti-mutant garbage that's rising in popularity," Nate finished. "It's okay, Dad. That's not even in our borough. Most of the trouble's in Queens."

"I know that, Nate, but you can't expect it to stay in Queens." Scott shook his head, took his juice glass to the sink and started the coffee maker. As was his usual morning routine, he planned to have coffee with Rabbi, Cohen once he'd gotten Nate to school. James was already gone with Captain Rogers, and the subway to get Nate to class was only a fifteen-minute ride. "If it's there, it's everywhere. It's just getting worse there - and sooner or later, it'll show up in school-"

"Dad. I literally can hear what people are thinking if I concentrate just a little bit." Nate held his fingers a fraction of an inch apart. "And I don't have to listen if someone has seriously ill intent. They scream it."

"Alright, but I just know that teenagers have a harder time not projecting."

"What, you think that human teens are worse than mutants? Dad. I've been dealing with it the whole time I was in Westchester, only that was worse because they were all staring at me because they knew my parents were amazing superheroes that were on the original team and practically founded the school with Grampa Charlie. Believe me. This will be easy."

Scott suddenly looked much older as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Nate, please."

"I'm just saying. I've got this, Dad. It'll be fine." Nate slipped his backpack onto one shoulder. "Ooh, and I'm supposed to go with Katie after school. She talked her mom into letting her shop for cars too since James is. She's determined to get a car before him."

"Even if he gets one, it won't be drivable for a while," Scott pointed out.

"True, but you know how she is, Dad. She's gotta beat him sometimes - it's the whole birthday thing. She hates that he's a month older and looks like he's an adult."

"Looks," Scott pointed out with a laugh as he grabbed his keys and ushered him out the front door. "Just tell me why you need to go with Katie when you should be going with us."

"Um … she could actually die if I don't go with," Nate said with a totally unapologetic smile.

Scott chuckled to himself, but didn't argue it. "Alright, Nate. Have fun with Katie. Just remember it's your night for dishes."

When Scott returned home, he hit the steps at the same time as the rabbi, and he found himself mentally checking off one more thing on how his day was slipping away from him already.

"You know, I half think that the mothers in this neighborhood forgot you have two sons until Nate showed up full time again?" Rabbi Cohen told Scott even before the coffee was poured.

"It's probably better that way," Scott said with a grin, handing Toby his coffee before he took a seat himself. "Seeing as Nate and Katie aren't anywhere close to a split."

"Yeah, you might want to keep a close eye on those two," Toby said. "They have all the markers for trouble if they keep it up."

"They're not even old enough to drive," Scott laughed. "Their idea of a great date is a couple stolen kisses here and there. It's not serious yet."

Toby gave him a raised eyebrow look.

"It's not. But even if it was, she's a good kid and her parents are-"

"Good friends, I know, I know," Toby said, waving one hand. "Your other boy though-"

"I'm not letting anyone set him up, Toby. There's too many what ifs there."

"You'll change your mind when he gets caught up with some girl that's trouble from a family you haven't done a full background search on."

"Sure, Toby. I'm very certain that's going to be what happens."

"You never know," Toby said, then broke into a broad smile that Scott cut off at the pass.

"Rachel isn't interested. Don't start."

But that had Toby laughing outright. "Okay, okay. No matchmaking. I'll just send the hopeful suitors over with chocolates and flowers."

"Just make sure it's not dark chocolate," Scott said. "No one here likes that stuff."

Toby burst out laughing, and Scott refilled his cup before the two of them continued their planning and picking with the good rabbi even piping up on what to watch out for when Scott and James went looking for a Jeep with Steve - who had volunteered to drive the Jeep back - whenever they found one all three of them could agree on. A fact that amused Toby to no end.

"Katie's pushing to get a car first, but she'll still have to wait until she's sixteen to drive it," Scott laughed. "James will work on his until it's ready, but knowing him?"

"It'll be ready by the time he's old enough," Toby said, nodding. "And probably upgraded."

"We'll see. If he was going for upgrades, he'd have asked Tony to help," Scott pointed out.

"Yeah. But think about how that would look," Toby chuckled - a sound that now always got a smirk at minimum from all the Summers clan.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want a newer car?" Clint asked as he took Kate to look at the car she'd found online - with Nate joining them for the fun of it and Carol Danvers there to help check the mechanical side of things with Clint. It was pretty clear that the pictures didn't do justice to how dinged up the old car was. He was standing with a frown on his face, one hand on his hip as he tipped his head sideways at the psychedelic-painted '71 super Beetle. The top had tears in it, and the chrome bumper was rusty, too. But … the old flower-child woman that was floating out of her brownstone was grinning at Kate even before she could answer her dad.

The woman looked like a cross between a fortune teller and a straight up hippie, with long flowing hair riddled with gray streaks. Her skirt was flowing, and she wore at least three scarves with a chunky ring on every finger and her half moon glasses perched on the tip of her nose as she came closer. "Oh, yes. You look like exactly the kind of kindred spirit my Janice needs," the woman said, grinning widely at Kate as she bounced in place. "Namaste, brothers and sisters. I'm Meadow."

While Meadow was staring at Kate with a grin, Kate only had eyes for the Beetle. Which left it up to Clint to do all the requisite safety and mechanical checks. And while Clint and a very amused Carol were looking over the engine, starting the car, looking for trouble as it ran, and kicking the tires, more or less, Meadow was telling Kate all about Janice's adventures.

Including the fact that apparently, Janice had originally been white … but Meadow and her friends decided to start painting her one day. On closer inspection, Kate could see the layers of flowers and rainbows … peace signs and all sorts of other hippie-inspired artwork that had been painted on and worn off then painted over again several times. "I'm afraid she'll need at the least a new coat of paint," Meadow told Carol in a forlorn tone. "But if you do take her, I hate to even ask it where she can hear me, but … would you consider just one color? I might not be able to take it seeing my wild-woman friend crusing the streets without me."

"She's not a wild-woman," Clint said, wiping his hands free of grease and dirt from looking over the engine. "She's fifteen."

"Oh, not your daughter," Meadow said, shaking her head quickly before she rested her hand on the car's front fender. "Janice. She's a wild woman. You have to be careful about her, too - she likes to take her top off!"

Clint smirked at that as Kate laughed delightedly. "Can we take Janice for a drive?" Clint asked. "I know we need to see how she runs first."

"Oh, absolutely!" Meadow dug around in her purse for the keys and handed them to Carol - even though Clint was standing nearest the driver's side door. Carol of course simply grinned wider at Clint before stepping around him to take the wheel.

"What are you waiting for?" Carol asked. "Or do you want to stay and ask Meadow more questions about Janice?"

"Not … the worst of ideas in a great many worst ideas you've had," Clint admitted as Kate and Nate climbed in the beetle - giggling like they were getting away with a massive crime, though Meadow looked as if the deal was already done even before Carol started it up and headed off down the block.

"We should discuss things," Meadow told Clint as she patted his arm.

"I'd like to make sure she wants it first," he said, but Meadow was already smiling and shaking her head. "Katie-Kate gets ideas in her head sometimes, and there's no telling if it's just an idea of a real desire…"

"She'll want it. I've seen that look on my own face a hundred times. That girl will love that car."

Before the two of them could get too deeply into anything, Meadow was handing Clint all the information she had on Janice - including decades of meticulous record keeping on service, repairs, and improvements. "Like I said, Mr. Barton," Meadow said as she readjusted her glasses on the end of her nose. "Janice has been very important to me. The only reason I'm selling her now is because I no longer can drive. Seizures, you know. I'd hate to hit someone or bang up that car if I had a problem going down the road. Mechanically, she's in pretty good shape. I'm sure you can see most of her trouble is cosmetic."

"Yeah, it'll take some time to find a new top," Clint said.

"Which is great if she's just fifteen," Meadow said. "Plenty of time to get it right. Just … if you happen to find an old glass pipe, don't panic. It hasn't been used in years."

Clint couldn't stop the laugh, which was great timing as Carol took the last corner around the block at speed and a few moments later, the car came to a screeching halt in front of Meadow and Clint - and Kate was laughing hard.

"She handles pretty good," Carol called out as Kate tumbled out of the passenger side of the car.

"Yes, I should have mentioned that," Meadow said. "Mind the nitrous button near the radio. The tank's nearly out but it'll blow the engine if you hit it too often."

Carol was grinning wider on hearing it. "If you don't want it, I'll take it," she told Clint, but Kate whirled around to face her dad fast enough that her ponytail stuck straight out behind her.

"No! I love it!" Kate said. "Purple, dad! We can paint it purple!"

Nate was laughing outright still - not even attempting to hide his amusement as Kate had chosen her color - down to the exact shade - before Carol had taken the first corner.

"I should talk it over with your mother," Clint said, but he was cut off by a wide-eyed Kate. "She was hoping for something sleeker…"

"Daddy! Come on! If we don't take it, Carol will!"

"That's right, Daddy, Carol will," Carol said, arms crossed over her chest and even more amused than before.

"You know I hate it when you two team up on me, don't you?" When Carol nodded, Clint groaned and covered his eyes with one hand for a moment. "If Nat hates it, you'll buy it off me, right?"

"Oh yeah. But only if you leave the Nitrous system in there."

Kate was watching the two of them - though Nate was laughing harder than the rest as he could hear what Meadow was thinking - that she'd been right from the moment she saw them.

"Alright. We'll take it," Clint said, then pointed one finger at Carol. "Do not wreck my daughter's car on the way to my building."

"I thought I was taking it to the tower. For repairs. And paint."

Kate's entire expression fell. "NO!"

"Yeah, that's probably smart. Don't need anyone taking out aggression on it in the street," Clint said as Kate looked more frustrated to hear that her car would be living at the tower without her.

Carol grinned as Clint turned toward Meadow with a wry smile to pay her - and Carol dangled the keys in front of Kate. "I'll take good care of her, Katie."

"You better!" Kate made a failed snatch for the keys that she hadn't ever expected to actually get back. "And don't let Tony touch that paint!"

"Don't want race car red, Katie?" Nate teased.

"You really think I'm gonna let Tony, the man who's married to a fashion designer but who still thinks 80s punk is the height of fashion, come anywhere near-"

Nate burst out laughing all over again and grabbed her hand. "If you're that worried, I can nudge Tony into not touching it…"

Kate beamed and kissed him full on the mouth. "My hero."

* * *

On the other side of the city headed toward Westchester, the other car hunt was going rather slowly. Just because of the nature of what James wanted, there was a lot more intensive looking involved. Where Kate and her parents had to look for rust troubles with the frame, James, Scott, and Steve were looking into damage in addition to rust issues. All three of them were put to the test to find something that wasn't entirely on its last leg. If it wasn't hidden or badly disguised rust or frame damage, then there were other issues. Welded gears in the rear axle, worn out transmissions, head damage in the engine, electrical problems, and on one occasion, they even found that the transmission (which wasn't working right) had been welded into place by skid plates.

To put it mildly … there were a lot of disasters when it came to older Jeeps for the boy to sink his teeth into.

But finally, after a dozen short trips to look things over … Steve okayed one. And a short couple of scans later, Scott did too. Which brought them to the final round where the two adults asked intensive questions and James watched … and scented the air to see if the guy was lying about anything critical.

"I'm not gonna pull your leg," the seller said, gesturing to the mostly pristine looking Jeep. "I've had some fun with it on the trail, but … there's an exhaust leak I don't want to tackle, and I'm sure it'll need more because of how old it is. But it's a good little car. Climbs hills like a cat and starts up every time."

When the questioning was over, the three of them shared a look, and after James nodded along to what the others had to say "You've got six months anyhow before you're sixteen," Steve said. "That should be enough time to get it running the way you want it to."

"If all goes well," Scott added, though he was trying hard to hide the smile. The prospect of getting into a project like this with James had him in high spirits.

"I think it looks good," James said. "Better than the last few we've looked at for sure."

"Then let's do it," Scott said, still trying to restrain the smile.

"I'll drive it back," Steve said, not even close to hiding his grin while his back was to the guy selling. "Been a while."

Scott nodded and stepped around them to finish the deal, since, at fifteen, James still had a few years to go before he could legally own it anyhow.

"Heard you're not asking Tony for help," Steve said quietly. "Smart move."

"Hey, I just want it to drive - not fly," James said, which got a warmer, broader smile from Steve.

"I'm not the best, but I can help. Or supervise if you need it."

"Careful how loud you say that or it'll be you and dad working on it while I watch," James said. "But thanks. I think the two of us can handle it. I'll let you know if it gets to be a problem."

Steve dropped a hand on James' shoulder and gave him a little shake. "Hard to believe you're going to be driving."

"Not if we don't get it fixed," James pointed out, which had Steve laughing.

"It drove alright when we tested it," Steve said. "It'll be good. Don't worry. It's a Jeep. It might need a little work now and again, but it's made to take abuse."

"Ah. My spirit animal," James deadpanned, though Steve only chuckled at that before Scott returned with papers in hand and a smiling seller to hand the keys to Steve.

"We'll follow you," Scott said. "Give us a little chance to start up a plan of attack on this rig."

"And I'll let you know if I see anything critical on the drive back," Steve agreed before they loaded up and headed back.

James thanked both the seller and Steve before he followed Scott to their car, and once they were moving and a little down the road, Scott had to start teasing. Just a little. He was already immensely proud of the kid anyhow, but this was a big step. Repairs pending or not, it was a step in the right direction.

When they got back home, Nate and Kate were on the front steps with Clint - and grinning widely. Though Kate had to laugh when she saw Steve climbing out of the Jeep. "Sounds rougher than it is," Steve said, momentarily ignoring Kate after he got the Jeep in the garage.

"Oh my God," Kate laughed. "My car is older but yours … yours is so worn out."

"Nah," James said. "It just needs some minor fixes."

"No, like … exact opposite," Nate said, grinning since he'd listened to Kate talk about how amazing the bug was for the last two hours. "Yours looks good but sounds like crap. Hers looks like crap-"

"Hey!"

"But sounds great," Nate finished, laughing when Kate shoved him. "Hers has nitrous too!"

"It won't for long," Clint said, earning a groan from Kate.

"Dad, that's the best part!"

"Uh-huh."

"Mom would let me keep it!"

"Mom will help me get rid of it."

"Not when I point out how good it is for escapes!"

"Escapes from what - handsy Summerses?" Clint asked, though Nate just nodded solemnly and put his hand on Kate's waist, distracting her right back into her good mood.

"Doesn't matter. We got mine first," Kate said, turning back to James. "And it'll be roadworthy before yours, because mine just needs a top and some paint."

"And you need a driver's license," James pointed out with a smirk. "Which I'll still have a month before you."

"What good will that do you when your heap isn't even functioning?" Kate laughed.

"I guess we'll just have to see how that works out over the summer," James countered - though both of them were laughing, and by the time Scott stepped up with Steve to break up the back and forth, Kate had rushed over to look the Jeep over - and had even asked if she could help supervise the reconstruction.

Which meant that at least the three teenagers would be safely distracted for a good portion of the summer once school was out.


	31. Blindsided

**Chapter 31 - Blindsided**

* * *

While the race to drive had been one filled with competition and _many _ups and downs between Kate and James, it was still debatable as to who the winner was. Yes, Kate's car had started out being perfectly drivable, but it had ended up needing a lot more TLC than even Carol had suspected.

The first thing that had happened, of course, was Natasha yanking out the Nitrous system - which ended up being the beginning of a slide for _Janice_. A peek in the engine had revealed that years with the throttle in a bottle had done subtle but serious damage to the heads. Which meant that there was a full engine rebuild to be done, leaving Natasha promising Kate with an amused smirk: "She needs a full new identity. Entirely. Obviously that means she needs a new engine as well."

"With … an engine that doesn't need the juice?" Kate asked with a grin, hoping her mother wold go for it.

"No," Natasha replied with a cheshire cat smile. "But it was worth a try."

James' work with his father and Steve had been steady, though. One thing would break - or show it self to be on the edge and they'd replace the problem or fix it, then a week later, they'd find something else. It was slow, steady repairs - all of which seemed to coincide well with how long it took them to order in new parts. But by the time he got his license, he was able to drive it. A little. For the month between his birthday and Kate's he got exactly two weeks of good driving before another broken part. Which meant Kate got to giggle her way through _her _birthday being the only one between them that could drive at the moment.

And it continued that way for the rest of the school year and even into Summer, though Kate's car would have it's own fits with less irritating regularity. Especially when James' car was working in prime convertible weather and Kate's decided it needed a new transmission. She just counted it as a good time though, when the Summers brothers stepped up to fix it for her. They had plenty of practice, after all.

* * *

Nate had only gone to the school in Westchester long enough to get a handle on his powers, though he and Rachel had been messing around with their telekinesis and telepathy for _years _so they had more than their fair share of lectures from their dad about keeping their powers under wraps before, during and after their time at Xavier's.

But even if Nate wasn't _as _careful at home, he _was _careful at school, because he was the quarterback on the varsity team, and he did _not _want anyone to think he was cheating. Especially because he was only a sophomore. He'd worked his butt off to get on the team, between recovering from injuries and bulking up enough to compete after being out of group sports for a couple of years. Even with those odds stacked against him, he had only ever cheated once - _accidentally_, during practice, and then it was only because he hadn't known Kate was going to try out for the cheerleading squad. She'd been captain of the archery team her freshman and sophomore year, so … it was kind of a shock. He hadn't expected her to go all in with cheerleading when she had been so aggressively competitive with every single sport she chose to go into.

Nate had just finished up practice when Kate came bounding over with a crooked grin on her face and grabbed his arm. "Come on!" she said. "I have Jan's notebook, and we've _got _to show Mia some of the designs she came up with!"

_You're attracting attention, _Nate projected to her.

_Oh, please. They all think we're going to find a hot makeout spot. Go ahead. Mind scan them and tell me I'm wrong._

Nate rolled his eyes - but he couldn't exactly argue with Kate, and the next thing he knew, they were in her purple VW on the way to Westchester with the top down. He'd already texted his dad to let him know that he and Kate were dropping in on Mia one last time before the fall semester officially started.

Everyone was trying to reach out and cheer Mia up more lately since she'd been in an honest funk about how there had been some advances in tech that screwed with image inducers, so she had to play it safe unless it was a known safe spot. Or relatively safe. The life of a part demon was a rough one, and it was taking its toll on the kindhearted young woman. So of course, specifically designed uniforms would cheer her up considerably.

"Jan and I are trying to decide if I need a midriff shirt or if I should go with a one-sleeve archer look," Kate said as Nate looked over the sketches that Jan had come up with. She had already designed Rachel's _official _Avengers outfit now that Rachel was eighteen and old enough that Scott couldn't stop her from joining the team full time - which she did. He'd had a hard time adjusting to that little change, and just about the time he'd gotten his anxiety under control, Nate had started wearing his dad down on letting him join up too the same way Rachel had when she was his age.

But these uniforms? They had X's on them, and not even the other Avengers knew that Jan was working on this project with them.

"Mia said she wanted something like her dad wore - you know, Nightcrawler-style. But with her white hair, we wanted to do more white accents than her dad had," Kate said. "And with yours, I wanted something that accents your football bod." She grinned over at him. "If you've got it, flaunt it."

Nate laughed and shook his head. "The story of your life."

"Oh, totally," Kate agreed. "Do you think you could get James to finally look at some of the sketches? I know he says he's not sure if he wants to join the secret club, but Jan has some drawn up anyhow and they're pretty amazing…"

"He's just worried about Dad," Nate said. "And, he's kind of been drawing his attention away from _us _and the secret club with the whole ... Jeep project, to be honest, so it's been good for our plotting purposes. We'll get James to join. Eventually."

"I thought your dad knew you were training to be Avengers? He signed off on all three of you."

"Yeah, but he's suspicious and James hasn't taken up Tony or Cap on the offer," Nate said. "And Dad's got his psychic defenses up _all _the time, so I think his paranoia's through the roof."

"Your dad is _always _paranoid," Kate said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, but there's paranoid," Nate said holding his hand up around chest level. "And then there's _Dad._" He held his hand well over his head.

"He's going to have to get over it sooner or later. Rachel's doing _great _on the Avengers. I totally love the hood-cape-thing she's got going on to hide her face and hair too. It's _gorgeous_."

"You underestimate him."

"Apparently."

"So … do you wanna get going before Dad calls up and says to forget Westchester?" Nate asked.

Kate grinned. "Um, yes. But before you pick out your makeout spot, lemme show these sketches to Mia first. I sort of already called her."

"You know, I could just … project them …"

"It's not the same, Nate," Kate laughed.

"Says you," Nate laughed with her.

"Hey, you're just _cheating_, you… telepathic goon."

"I'm teasing, you know that, right?" Nate said. "I can be _patient_." _For a while._

_You so can't, _Kate said, laughing even in her mental voice as she pushed the speed limit. _And if you try and have a psychic makeout with me and we get in a wreck, I am blaming you and throwing you under every single bus. _

_Pretty sure I could TK us out of trouble if it came down to it._

_Your dad would kill us both. Straight up murder in the streets. _

_Yeah, he's a total killer, _Nate replied, almost snorting to himself.

Kate laughed. _I'm speeding for you, I hope you know. If I get another ticket, Mom will hang you by your thumbs. _

Nate grinned crookedly at her. _If you get pulled over, I'll make him think he pulled over Dazzler. He'll be starstruck. _

_You're hilarious. _

_Totally serious. _

_Yeah, I know. Which makes you that much better. _Kate laughed to herself - which really just meant a whole lot of telepathic flirting all the way to Westchester.

Though Kate and Nate were surprised when they got to Westchester and they weren't the only ones there to visit. Though it was incredibly close to the start of the school year, there were some new students - a pair of twin boys that looked exactly alike except for their hair - and Mia was giving them the tour. They were just making the rounds in front of the school, and Mia waved at both of them as she passed - then teleported over to say hello, even though she wasn't supposed to teleport, even now that she had a handle on it, and even though they had no neighbors close enough to the school to _see _her unless they were someone going out of their way to spy. And someone likely was.

"Gimme," Mia said, grinning widely as she devoured the designs that Jan and Kate had come up with. "Ooh, can you elongate the shoulders more? I want to look a little more like my dad."

"Something Jan _hasn't _heard lately," Nate said under his breath as Kate nodded to Mia and handed her the pencil to make notes in the margins with her requests.

"This is amazing.. but I have to go back to my tour. They're cute, don't you think? My new students?" Mia asked with a crooked smile as her tail swayed lazily behind her.

"If you flirt with the kid with white hair, you'd totally match," Kate teased.

"Oh, like Kate and Nate?" Mia shot right back.

"Ex-actly."

Mia laughed and then teleported back to the boys - and Kate burst out laughing when she realized that Mia had taken the white-haired twin's arm to pull him along.

"This is why she's my best friend," Kate said. "Ugh. If her mom wasn't so nervous about how people would react to another blue Avenger, she'd be on the team with me already." _We so have to hurry up with the X-debut. This gets stupider the older we get!_

_Yeah, but you know James is right, _Nate said. _We need a place to start, and we don't have anywhere to start yet that would _need _the X-Men over the Avengers. Just a matter of time - I'm not totally making excuses for him. _

_Not 'totally' anyway, _Kate said before she grinned and stole a kiss. _I'm perfectly fine with waiting for a dramatic debut. _

_You would be. _

_Hey, you never know. Maybe the MRD pulls something super duper stupid..._

_We'll know it when we see it, _Nate said.

Kate grinned, and she was ready to move on to something else - except that she spotted something unusual and let out a gasp. "Um. I think I see it."

Nate turned and swore under his breath when he saw what or _who_ had Kate sounding like that. "You never know … maybe it's … nah, who am I kidding, that's trouble." He pulled on her hand. "Come on. We should go see how bad it's going to be."

Kate was wide-eyed as she let him pull her toward the slightly levitating Magneto, who was mostly staying back from Mia's tour as he looked around the school, frowning to himself the more he saw. He seemed like he was building anger, and Nate and Kate _thought _they'd just been sneaky in their attempt to look like they were going to talk to Ororo until he turned their way with his cape billowing behind him.

"Oh, hi!" Kate said with a bright smile, holding onto Nate's hand a little tighter - which was really quite the picture for Erik seeing a Scott lookalike in a football jersey and a girl in a cheerleading uniform.

"Ah. Young Mr. Summers. I wasn't aware that the school had progressed to a point of playing with the locals," Erik said.

"Oh, no, we go to school in the city," Nate said.

Erik frowned at that. "Why on earth would you want to do that?"

"Um, because I'm the quarterback," Nate said.

"But we come here and hang out with Mia and everyone," Kate said brightly when Erik looked annoyed.

"Are you here for anyone in particular?" Nate asked, unconsciously stepping a little in front of Kate. "Or are you just visiting for fun?" He smiled up at Erik, trying to defuse what should have been a peaceful situation, but certainly didn't feel like it. "Just trying to figure out how to help best."

"I came to see the school that my grandsons would be attending," Erik said, narrowing his eyes as he looked around.

Nate's eyebrows went up. "Your grandsons?" he asked.

"Thomas and William," Erik said.

"That's great," Nate said. "Are they the twins? I saw them just a little while ago when we came in - they were going to the greenhouse with Mia, I think." He jogged closer to Erik. "Have you been by since they added the new dormitory wing?"

"No, I'm afraid I've been too busy with more pressing matters… But I see now that I should have come by far sooner."

"It's pretty nice," Nate said. "I didn't go here for too long just because I got control of things fast. Didn't want to take up space for a kid that needed more help."

Erik's glare softened slightly. "You sound like your father, Mr. Summers."

"Of course I do," Nate said with a winning smile before he gestured to the doors. "I know he'd like to say hello and he should be here soon. He wasn't far behind us."

"Good. I think I'd like to speak with him," Erik said, turning on his heel as soon as his feet finally touched the ground.

Nate nodded to himself and led the way, even going so far as to hold the door open so Erik could pass through, and inside Mia was indeed going over part of the daily schedule with the two boys.

_You're really cute when you're all… taking charge of a tour to a school you don't even go to, _Kate projected to Nate.

_Family duty, _Nate replied quickly - and she could feel the smile in his tone.

_You're loving this, aren't you? _

_Not really. I didn't know Magneto even left Genosha for anything this small. _

_Well, they're his grandkids. Everyone's got a soft spot for something, right? _

_You obviously haven't heard what kind of dad he was. Is. _

_Um, no, I was busy learning how to shoot a bullseye with my eyes closed. _

_Yeah, well, my uncle Alex married his youngest and I didn't need to practice as hard as you, so … _

_You're such a cheater! TK doesn't count! _

_Doesn't need to. I'm just that good. _

_You cheat. Don't lie. _

_Not lying. Not cheating. _

_Okay, that's it. You, me, and a target range. _

_You got it, beautiful. Prepare to lose. _

The two of them rushed off, though that left Erik looking over the school and getting angrier all over again the more he saw. The trappings were the same with the rich dark woods throughout the house just as Charles had always rebuilt it, but what he overheard from the students and in bits of the tour Mia had given them was repression and hiding.

So by the time Scott and James arrived twenty minutes later- grinning and in the Jeep they'd been working on together - Scott was absolutely not expecting it when instead of Ororo or any of their friends, he was met at the door by Erik, who by that time was _livid_.

"Have you lost your _mind_?" Erik's voice thundered through the halls, halting all motion and drawing the attention of all the young people and teachers alike who were milling about.

Scott blinked and then unconsciously straightened up as the door closed hollowly behind him. "Hello, Erik."

Erik didn't pause. "Is this how you intend to honor Charles' memory? This is nothing like the dream he instilled in you, and you know it. How dare you put his name on this mockery of an institution? It's a sham and a disgrace. You're teaching mutants nothing but shame and silence? Have I been gone for so long in Genosha? Have you drifted so far that you can't remember anything he taught you? This is how you repay your professor, your mentor, the man who gave you everything? He treated you like a _son_! _How dare you_?"

Scott looked like he'd been hit, and he fell back a step. "What…"

"Hey," James said, stepping in front of Scott and driving forward to get right into Erik's face with Scott quick to catch up to him and keep him from completely going after Erik, though the growl that thickened with every word showed how fine a margin Scott was fighting against. "What the hell are _you _doing to honor that legacy outside of floating around and treating people like crap? Everyone here is learning what they need to _survive_. You don't get to sweep in here and take your inadequacies out on my Dad. _Back off_."

"What am _I _doing?" Erik shot back holding his ground save for the fact that he floated up a few more inches as James looked ready to pounce. "I have created a place where mutants are _free_. They don't need to cower and hide in disgrace as they're doing here. They walk proudly through my streets."

"So you think holing up on an island isn't _hiding?_" James challenged.

"I don't ask them to hide what they _are_," Erik snapped.

"No, because they've got a hundred miles of ocean between them and anyone lacking an x-gene."

"That is the point," Erik said. "But clearly, I've been gone too long. _How _Charles' disciples could turn his dream into _this_-"

"_Disciples_ ... " James sputtered as his lip curled up. "He wasn't the one to act like he thought he was a _God_, expecting people to fall at his feet to pay obeisance_. _You really have trouble with comprehension if that's what you took out of everything the professor wrote."

"James, it's fine," Scott said, one hand on James' arm. "I've got this."

James let out a breath and took a step back to stand next to Scott, though he was clearly still upset. A feeling that only grew as Erik sneered and tipped his nose up to look down at them.

"I see you've managed to train this one to _heel_ better than the last. Though I suppose it helps that you got him so early on in life," Erik said.

The response from James was instant - a rippling snarl echoed around the hall as he darted forward - and Erik barely shot up in the air out of reach. But Scott grabbed James' arm, slowing him from catching Erik, and then stood between them. He knew James would keep going when his reaction was that strong if he didn't put an end to it quickly. "If you have an issue with me, take it up with me. But that is my _son _and if you won't speak to him in a _civilized _manner, then you aren't welcome on the premises, no matter who you have here at the school."

"Scott isn't wrong, but I thought you knew that he doesn't teach here, Erik," Storm said - her voice echoing the commanding tones of a Goddess as she made her presence known. "There is no need to speak to either of them in such an uncivilized manner. If you take issue in how I run _my _school, I'll thank you to take it up with me. Now. Shall we be civilized or do we need to see who wins between lightning bolt and lightning rod?"

Erik narrowed his eyes as he turned to face her before he nodded. "Then you're the one I'd like to speak to about this… _situation_," he said. "I'd assumed that he'd turned his nose up at my generous offers to stay in Genosha because of this place. Clearly I was wrong."

Ororo smiled tightly, and stepped forward. "I won't speak for Scott's reasoning beyond saying that I'm sure he was more concerned with his family's happiness than yours. For the rest, you know where my office is."

Erik spun, though he didn't miss the chance to pause long enough to look James up and down with a disgusted expression. Though, James returned the favor in kind with a look of pure loathing that Scott hadn't seen since _Logan _had squared up with Magneto. As Erik passed them by, Mia teleported over and grabbed both Scott and James then teleported them out of there.

"Ohmigosh I've never heard you _snarl _before," she gasped out to James.

"Didn't mean to," James said from between his teeth with a growl still lacing his tone.

"It's an instinct when you're that mad," Scott said.

"Doesn't make what he said any better, then, does it?" James said, which only had Scott looking more upset on hearing it.

"No one that's ever known you believes that," Scott told him earnestly, but James didn't look like he bought it.

Mia looked between them before she let her shoulders drop. "Okay, well… do you want to help with the tour, maybe? I'm pretty sure we can stretch out the rest of it to give you some space."

"I don't know if that's the best idea or not." James held her gaze for a moment as he thought it over then turned to Scott. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Scott promised.

"He just … hit a sore spot I guess. I'm sorry."

"You've got nothing to apologize for," Scott promised, resting one hand on James' shoulder. "He has that effect on just about everyone."

"Are you _sure _you're alright?" James asked, still looking like he'd go back to take a shot if he needed to. "Because I don't mind grabbing a hold of that cape and strangling him with it."

"James, I'm fine. It's been long enough I've heard all of it more than enough," Scott said.

"You know, if I'm not allowed to lie to you -"

Scott let out a breath. "He had a point."

"Doesn't make it okay to take out his shortcomings on you. And who the hell does he think he is - no one asked him to speak for anyone here," James said, still clearly irritated with Erik.

"Um, yeah, he's like that," a new voice broke into the conversation - and the twin boys from earlier poked their heads in as James and Scott turned toward them. The boy with dark hair waved the tips of his fingers. "Hey. Billy Maximoff. I don't think I've ever seen anyone tear my grandfather up like that."

"He asked for it," James said- entirely unapologetic and watching to see what the story was with this kid.

"Yeah, he usually does," Billy's twin said with a shrug. "Hi. I'm Tommy - or _Thomas _if you're listening to the old man. You know, since Billy didn't intro me. I think he's still caught up in the snarls."

"Older siblings are like that," James said without missing a beat. "Forgetting to intro the younger ones."

"Ha!" Billy said, though Tommy was already shaking his head.

"Fifteen seconds _does not count_. And we're not entirely sure I wasn't first - you just got Mom's attention first!"

James let out a breath and raised his hand. "I'm James. Sorry if I startled you."

"Nah, we grew up on Genosha," Tommy said. "And I can blow up a block. You're kinda loud, but hey, we've seen worse."

"I've just never seen anyone stand up to him that _effectively_," Billy said with a badly hidden smile.

"I didn't realize it was a big deal," James said, crossing his arms as he started to get his temper in check.

"It was great; don't apologize," Billy grinned.

"I wasn't planning to," James said, finally relaxing enough to smirk a little. "I try to keep my head down when I'm here."

"Well that was the best fail I've ever seen," Mia laughed delightedly. "You should do that more!"

Scott smirked as he backed off from the conversation, still shaking his head to himself over the whole thing. James really was so much like his father sometimes. But now, he was talking with kids his own age, and Scott wasn't going to get in the middle of that. So, he went toward Ororo's office so he could back her up.

"So who'd you have to kill to get off the island?" James asked, which Scott managed to snerk at on his way out - and that, if nothing else got James to let his smile peek out. He knew Scott wouldn't be able to relax if he was worried about James … and vice versa.

"Actually, Mom wanted us to meet people who weren't, you know…" Billy started to say.

"Crazy?" James offered.

"Um, no," Billy said. "But everyone on Genosha kind of treats our family like royalty."

"Mom wants us to meet some normal people," Tommy put in.

"Welcome to the mainland," Mia giggled.

"Yeah, but you're cute," Tommy pointed out, grinning obnoxiously at Mia. "So I think I'm in favor of sticking around…"

Billy covered his eyes with his hand. "I'm sorry. He's just like this."

"Not surprised," James said. "Gonna have to compensate for that fifteen seconds for the rest of his life."

Billy grinned outright. "Oh yeah. I like you."

"You just like him because he agreed with you," Tommy grumped.

"Well, and he's cute," Billy pointed out.

"Hey, you're not so bad yourself, little prince," James said, without missing a beat, though he almost looked surprised at himself for saying as much.

Billy grinned a little wider. "Mind showing me around? I could use a tour guide my brother _isn't _hitting on."

"Sure," James said. "But I was never a student, and I'm only here now and again. So I'm not an _official _tour guide."

"Yeah, well, maybe I'm more interested in something other than the school," Billy said.

James tipped his head for a moment and smiled crookedly in spite of himself. "Okay." He glanced over his shoulder at Mia, who was close by him still. "You might want to rethink that - Storm will get mad if you had two tours and still can't find your way around." He turned away from Billy for a moment to try to catch Mia who was flirting with Tommy _shamelessly_. He had to clear his throat twice to get her attention, too. Which made it more interesting since … James could swear that Billy was flirting too … "Hey. Mia. What did you guys miss?"

"Well, we covered almost everything in the school. We still haven't hit the grounds all the way," Mia admitted, though before she could get too much farther, there was a gasp from the hallway, and the Scarlet Witch stood there with her hands over her mouth.

"You look _just _like him," she breathed out. "I can't believe you've _grown _so much since the last time I saw you!"

The little group of teenagers shared looks and unconsciously grouped up facing her as Wanda came closer. "Hi," James said. "No one's said it was _that _close." He offered her his hand as he introduced himself, tense with her approach considering how _friendly _Erik had been.

Wanda took his hand, then reached up to rest her other hand on his cheek, still staring at him. "You look amazing, James, really."

"Thanks... I think," James said, glancing at the twins and Mia because for him, this was a little different than the norm. And much more warm than her father had been.

Wanda smiled and then turned to her boys, shifting her position so both of her hands were on James' shoulders and they were facing the twins. "Remember what I told you about the X-Men? This is Wolverine's son."

"Oh, cool," Tommy said. "Have you got metal bones too?"

"Definitely not," James said without missing a beat. "That wasn't standard equipment."

"You can't just ask someone if they have _metal bones_," Billy said, sounding scandalized.

"Why not? Seemed like an important detail in the stories," Tommy said with a shrug.

"To be fair, I think you would have known if I had metal bones already," James pointed out.

"True. It would be hard to stand up to the old man with that," Tommy agreed.

"But not impossible," James shot back with a troublemaking look as Wanda grinned wider still at his response.

"Okay, so… we clearly missed something here," Kate said as she and Nate were the last to join the group - a little disheveled and grinning crookedly.

"That's what happens when you're sucking face under the bleachers. Or something," James said, then gestured to Nate. "Nice lipstick - not your color though. Brings out the bruises."

Nate didn't look the least bit apologetic, even as Wanda went right to him with the same smile, taking his face in her hands too. "And you! Last time I saw you, you were just a toddler, and now you look _just _like your father!"

"I think she's just saying that to everyone today," James said as he elbowed Kate. "Sorry Katie. Condolences."

"Yeah, well, I don't look like either of my parents, so I'm fine," she said with a shrug.

"Yeah, you had an Iowa hick and a Russian spy…" Nate smirked. "Someone cheated, clearly."

"Milkman?" James suggested, eyes narrowed - in an expression the Summers boys shared that made it clear this was a common tease.

Kate giggled. "Last week, it was the pizza delivery guy," she told Mia.

"And the week before that, it was _Tony_," Nate giggled.

"That one was the most believable, really," Kate said. "Especially since he keeps trying to steal me."

"He's like that with me too," James said. "Steal all the kids."

"Evil pied piper that he is."

"Well he _does _have the best toys," James pointed out.

"Okay, you guys are hilarious, clearly, but I was having a _tour_," Tommy said as properly as he could just before grabbing Mia's arm. "Which is faster, do you think - teleporting or running?"

"One way to find out," Mia said - and the next second, they were both _gone_.

"Oh great," James said. "Now there's two of them."

"That's what I was thinking," Billy said, shaking his head.

James smirked at that and turned back to Wanda. "Nice to meet you, but I think I need to go outside and finish the tour before your father returns. _If_ we're gonna finish it. So." he looked over at Nate and Kate "You two can go back to your hiding spot or you can go with us. Dad's busy with Storm and the battle axe in the cape."

"I would apologize for him, but it wouldn't stop him from being awful again," Wanda said. "He never could be civil with your parents, James. I don't think he realizes how it comes off."

"That or he doesn't _care _how it comes off," James said, which had Wanda looking remorseful as once again, she couldn't help but touch the side of his face again in a familiar, motherly gesture that James just wasn't used to. It was enough that James dropped her gaze, which had Wanda looking somehow even more sympathetic.

"I should go help Scott and Storm with him," Wanda said. "Please, try to forget my father's poor manners."

"Should we be concerned?" Kate asked.

"I don't know," James admitted. "I lost my temper a little bit."

"That _is _a big deal," Nate said, one eyebrow raised. "You never do that."

"Yeah, well, he was being a jerk to Dad and I kind of slipped," James said. "Might have snarled a little." He was holding his thumb and forefinger just a sliver apart

"Um, what did he say and how far do you think I can throw him with TK?" Nate asked with a deepening frown.

"It doesn't really matter what he said," James said, glancing at Wanda, who seemed to relax on hearing it. "He didn't seem to have expected the growl, and when I charged him, he took off fast."

"I'm kinda sad we missed it," Kate said.

"Yeah, I'm sure it was a real show stopper," James snorted. "Sixteen year old threatens senior citizen…"

"It was great," Billy said. "Really. He needs someone to stand up to him sometimes, and Mom usually has to do it."

"How mad would he be if you headed off away from the mansion?" James asked. "Don't want to take off on my Dad, but we could hit a trail in the woods for a while. You'll probably want to know those from someone that doesn't have instant travel down."

"Hey, I'm not, like, attached by a leash or anything. I'm allowed to take a walk with a cute guy," Billy said, which again had James unconsciously pausing.

"Walk nothing, I've got my Jeep outside. and there trails go for miles." James tipped his head. "Technically, it would be touring the grounds and I'd like to get away from … everyone for a little bit."

Billy laughed. "Bye, Mom!" he said, one arm around James' back as they led the way with Kate and Nate following close behind with matching grins. "See you at Christmas!"


	32. Culture Shock

**_A/N- Practically An Avenger, you are cracking both of us up SO HARD with your AMAZING reviews. Please, don't ever stop. The Emotional Support Feral killed both of us DEAD. Do it again. _**

* * *

**Chapter 32 - Culture Shock**

* * *

The little foursome made their way out through the entryway with no sign of Erik or Scott anywhere, though there were still quite a few students milling about who watched James pass them by with wide-eyes. James tactfully ignored them as he and Billy led the way with Nate and Kate holding hands and making eyes at each other on their way out the front door. Which of course, James commented on only by the expression on his face showing how weary he was at their constant PDA.

Once he'd taken a moment _outside _to ask Billy where they'd been already, he gestured toward the little red Jeep and they started toward it with Kate bouncing at what was to come.

"Are you sure we should be taking this thing off road?" Nate asked as he and Kate clambered into the back of the Jeep. "You just got it driving again."

"Yeah, and now it's time to break something so I can have something to _fix_," James said in a tone that read it was the most reasonable thing in the world. "But if you don't want to try driving once we're out of sight of the school ... "

"I thought you weren't going to _share," _Nate teased.

"Well I wasn't … but then Dad mentioned looking for a car for _you _and I remembered I was going to need to change the clutch out _anyhow_, so if you're going to learn, it's better to do it _now _when it's okay if you tear it up." James gave Nate a pointed look. "Unless you don't want a car, and if that's the case, I'll quit looking."

"Hey, no. But for the record, it's not my fault that your windshield broke," Nate said, holding up both hands.

"No, it was some _other _telekinetic that folded it forward just before it shattered."

"Still not my fault," Nate said as Kate snuggled in with him. "I didn't know it was going to be that easy to fold over."

"It has a _hinge_," James said, sounding exasperated - and making it clear that this wasn't the first time the two of them had gone back and forth about this particular set back.

"It _did _give you something else to fix though, right?" Kate teased.

"You suck, Katherine," James said in a breath - which only had Kate kicking his seat for revenge. Even if she was grinning at him.

"Can't have it both ways," Kate sang. "Either you're mad about it being broken or you're happy you had something to fix!"

James' response was to let the car shoot forward, setting Kate back in her seat - laughing all the way as they headed off into the trees and down the trails. They were barely into the woods when the radio suddenly turned on and tuned itself to Nate's favorite station, which had James letting out a sigh before he reached over to lower the volume. "You're a _horrible _little brother."

"I'm amazing and you know it," Nate replied, smiling smugly. "How about the trail that goes through the creek? It rained a few days ago, but it's probably not _too _deep."

"That depends on if Kate can handle getting wet," James said. "It was still deep enough to go into the floorboards the last time you and I went through it."

"I can lift my feet," Kate said, demonstrating by resting her feet on the back of his seat again and jostling it carefully. "See? What about you, Billy? Are you okay with wet feet?"

"It might be fun," Billy said, smiling at the company and the bumpy trail as they flung sticky mud going through the still-wet lower sections of the trail. He'd never gotten to do _this _before, let alone with kids his own age in an entirely unstructured setting.

"Alright then," James said, nodding to himself before he looked up at Nate and Kate in his rear view. "If one of you wouldn't mind playing tour-guide Barbie, that would be great. Whoever does a better job gets to drive next."

Nate groaned to himself as Kate straightened up and did her very best tour-guide impression, though it was a little jilted as James hit deeper mud holes, winging mud everywhere and cracking Kate up as she tried to describe the events as they happened. Especially after James drove the Jeep between two trees close enough on both sides to make the mirrors fold in against the body. "Please keep all hands and legs _inside _the vehicle as our driver seems to have no respect for things like _trees_ getting too close!" She shoved his shoulder as James chuckled to himself. "Crazy driver!"

"But did you die?" James called back - which had Nate laughing outright before he dove in to take over on the _actual _description of where they were in relation to the school. It wasn't long after that when James stopped on a drier patch of land and Kate called out the next order of business.

"Me next!"

"No way, you didn't even do the good part," Nate laughed - laughing harder when James handed him the keys before he turned to Billy.

"I know it's asking a lot, but can you ride back there with the lunatic while I help my brother learn how to shift?" James asked. "She probably won't bite."

"Probably," Nate agreed. "No guarantees."

"She _was _raised by circus folk and a spy," James added with a crooked grin - hoping to rile her a little more.

"I thought she was the milkman's baby," Billy replied with a badly hidden grin of his own, though at least he wasn't blushing like he was _afraid _he'd be doing.

"Undetermined. Your guess is as good as ours," James replied without missing a beat. "But she was still _raised _by a carnie and a spy. Who knows _what _her real parents were. Might be alien for all we know. Might explain her obsession with paleolithic weaponry."

Kate let out a sigh of longsuffering as Billy grinned wider and climbed into the backseat even as Nate bounced on his toes next to James doing his very best annoying little brother impression to get the keys. "Hi," Kate said, going back to friendly and approachable as the brothers talked between themselves on what Nate needed to be doing. All while Nate impatiently tried to wave James off as he told him he'd just take the instructions out of his thoughts. "How unfortunate for you to ditch your brother and end up getting stuck with these two."

"Yes, 'unfortunate,'" Billy agreed, not at all able to keep a straight face with that description. "This is the most fun I've had in forever! We don't get to spend much time around people our age back home."

Kate gave Billy her most dramatically sympathetic expression. "Poor sad little dragon locked up in his tower."

"Prince?"

"I said what I said."

"You guys have weird senses of humor; you know that?"

"We kinda have to," Kate pointed out. "We were all raised in the shadow of one of the worst tragedies to ever hit superpowered beings. If we didn't have senses of humor, we'd all be like Nate's dad and- hey! Nate! I know I was thinking about cutting my hair, but you don't have to do it for me with a _car crash taking the rest of my head off too_!" Kate called out, interrupting her train of thought when it was simply impossible to pass up teasing her boyfriend when he took a turn too hard and Kate and Billy both had to duck to miss the whiplash from the tree branch.

Billy was laughing right along with Kate - it was impossible not to - but he was still curious, so he tried to steer the conversation back when Kate looked like she had stopped telepathically flirting with her boyfriend. "How did you get mixed in with everyone, then?" he asked. "I mean, you're not a second gen-"

"Oh, Storm rescued me from some mobsters after the Phoenix killed my birth parents," Kate said in a perfectly matter-of-fact tone that didn't _quite _fit what to Billy's mind was a whole lot of big revelations at once. "I was pretty little, so I don't remember much, but I do remember that Tony kept trying to convince me I should pick _him _over my mom. Which was never gonna happen."

Billy blinked and shook his head. "And all I've got is an android for a dad," he joked.

"Which is still _so cool_," Kate promised - and then promptly got distracted teasing Nate again.

The Jeep jackrabbited forward in a massive lurch as Nate got them going again - bouncing Kate and Billy _hard _in the back, though James had at least braced himself for it - and was visibly trying _not _to swear as Nate played with learning how to shift. All three of them cringed the first time the gears began to grind, but with every shift, Nate _was _getting better. Not good enough to avoid grinding the gears _at all _but better all the same.

James was doing his best to help Nate navigate through the worst stuff they found - even standing up in his seat to get a better view of what they were headed into when the mud looked questionable. But most of that section of trail was easy driving … just a seriously bumpy trail that snaked through the trees that they had to go slow through. But it _was _perfect for Nate to practice shifting.

Which was fine, all the way up until Kate had to speak up. "Okay, but is this offer to drive open to everyone or is it just _favoritism _to Summers?"

James tipped his head back so he could see her between the seats. "Are you going to break something?"

"Would you love me more if I did?" Kate asked with a grin.

"Um … A) I thought you were happy with the Summers you have, and B) - it depends on if you strand us or not."

She held up one hand, the other over her heart. "Okay. I am _very _happy with the one I have. Eew. Don't put pictures in my head and I won't strand us. Probably."

James gave her a dry look. "Then you get to go _last_."

"Oh, you're gonna let the new guy go before me?" Kate asked, sounding scandalized.

"I doubt he'd _break something _first time out," James said, with Nate nodding sagely beside him.

"I … probably shouldn't," Billy said, holding one hand up and blushing lightly. "I've never driven anything before. No reason to on Genosha."

Kate looked sympathetic as James turned around more fully. "Don't let Nate scare you off just because he doesn't know how to drive worth a damn. It's not his fault. He spends all his time staring at Kate."

"Hey!" Nate shoved James hard, which had James smiling widely at how easily Nate was riled. "I can drive just fine! Maybe I'm having trouble because my _teacher _is slacking!"

"Doesn't matter!" Kate said, lunging forward to snatch the keys from the ignition before either James or Nate could stop her. "He's done and now it's _my turn_."

"I hope your family isn't going to miss you too much," Nate teased Billy then leaned over so he could kiss Kate's cheek. "Just remember, gorgeous - this is off road. If you hit something at sixty, we're all gonna die."

"Well … not all of us," James said dryly as he looked back at back at Nate with a smirk to find Nate quickly buckling his seat belt and making a show out of bracing himself against the roll bars.

"True. Katie, my gorgeous sweetheart - we're not going to need the roll cage, are we?" Nate asked. "Because TK bubble or not, I don't want to take the risk on an empty stomach."

Kate rolled her eyes - and then threw mud when she hit the gas. There was no jackrabbiting. No stalling, and most importantly to James - no grinding.

"Kate gets to pick the radio station," James sang out - to Kate and Billy's entertainment and Nate's groan.

"So much for Summers-favoritism," Billy snickered.

"You know, he's a Summers too, right?" Nate said with a little frown.

"Not _entirely_," Kate said before Billy could reply in any way. "Raised by a Summers. Like … like raised by wolves but with better manners."

"Careful how you talk about the wolves," James teased.

"Like you have room to talk," Nate shot back, rolling his eyes as Kate cackled and they took a corner at speed, jostling Nate into Billy and getting James to swear outright as he held on to stay in the Jeep, seeing as the doors were off and he hadn't re-buckled yet. "She's just … like this," he told Billy quietly.

"I love it," Billy admitted, grinning, even as they tried to get situated better in spite of Kate's gleeful laughs as they ran the trails and hit smaller mud holes. "We don't get to do anything even close to this on Genosha."

"Yeah … so … was this your idea to come here or was that purely a parent's choice?" Nate asked, already reaching out to touch Billy's mind since Magneto had been so clearly hostile toward James and Scott, even if he'd been reasonable with Nate. Not that it was a surprise, he just really hated when someone treated his brother differently, and he _despised _it when someone was awful to his dad.

"Mom's idea actually," Billy said. "But we were happy to go along with it. She wanted us to try out life as a 'normal' mutant? And, if I'm being totally honest, we both had a bad experience or two with people trying to use us? So … we needed to get away from that."

Nate couldn't help but see the faces that Billy was unconsciously projecting - and the hurt that went along with them. There was a lot of raw anger directed at a young lady, though not a whisper of emotion for her otherwise, and then a pair of young men that brought forward an echo not only of anger, but of honest _hurt_. "That's … well I hope you don't have any trouble like that here," Nate said finally, though a moment later, Kate swerved to drive James' side of the Jeep into a low hanging branch, just to smack him - and Nate barely got the TK shield up in time to save Billy from getting smacked too - as James swore up a storm while picking leaves out of his hair.

Which was about when Nate _also _caught the fact that Billy was openly watching James and smiling to himself all the while. He stopped himself from doing a double-take, since that wasn't something Nate was used to catching. But … considering that this was just day _one _for Billy, he didn't see the harm in letting the guy have his crush unbothered.

Kate was having a _blast _all the way up until she hit a deeper-than-she-thought mud hole and an echoing very metallic _clunk _echoed the trees even as they went out the other side of the mud, followed by a wicked grinding sound just below her.

"Well. At least we're on dry-ish ground," James said, gesturing for Kate to try and get them further from the mess. It was clear from the moment the noise echoed that Kate felt bad, and just as quickly, James wanted to make sure she was okay. "Katie, it's fine. These things break. It's like 80% of what they do. You know that, Hawkeye. You've helped supervise me fixing it often enough. So let's see what happened before you freak out, m'kay?"

When they got to a flatter area, the sound under the Jeep was clearly something that was metallic and unhealthy and getting more loud and grinding as they limped forward. Kate stopped and turned it off as James jumped out to take a look at what went wrong. He'd barely gotten underneath it when Nate hopped out to see if he could do anything to help and the other two were quick to follow- and get front row seats to watch the brothers at work half covered in mud.

"How does it look, doc?" Kate called out, going for cheerful, even if she looked like she would have rather been anywhere else in that moment.

"I ... can fix it enough to get us back," James said. "And get it home, too."

"Do we have the tools?" Nate asked.

"Well … if we _don't _I'm pretty sure I know a telekinetic that likes to show off for his girlfriend," James said from under the Jeep. "But yeah… the wrenches are behind the back seat. That should be enough to do it."

Nate volunteered to hand James the tools as he tried unsuccessfully to avoid the mud and dirty water falling off the bottom of the Jeep as he worked. It only took a few minutes before something under the Jeep lurched and James started chuckling to himself, with Nate right along with him - though Nate looked like he wasn't too sure of his brother's particular choice in a quick fix.

"What are you doing with that?" Nate asked. "I thought that was kind of important to you know … move."

"Temporary removal," James said. "We only need one driveshaft and this is the one that broke… _so_ … I'll drive on the way back. We'll have to avoid the water though. If the front driveshaft breaks, we will actually be screwed."

"We can always ask my big, strong boyfriend to float us over the water bits," Kate teased, fluttering her eyelashes dramatically at Nate.

"If he comes back with a nosebleed that doesn't come from a broken nose, you won't get to steal him away after football games for a solid month. He already got in trouble for that kind of thing this week," James said, then paused and turned to Nate. "I could just _hit _you though. That would solve it."

"Why would a nosebleed be such a big deal?" Billy asked, genuinely lost. "I got them a few times overdoing my powers. No biggie."

"Same thing when he over does _his _powers too," James said as he handed the drive shaft to Nate - it was obviously broken at one of the joints and covered in mud - as was James. "It gives Dad fits when he takes the powers too far. Something his mom did, I guess. So Dad gets nervous." When he stood up, he was dirty, greasy, and wet - and couldn't even begin to wipe the mud off, though he did offer Kate a hug as Nate dropped the driveshaft behind the backseat. "Come on, Kate … you know you want to."

"Ah, no, I've already got the superior brother, thanks," Kate teased without missing a beat.

"You're just afraid to get your cheerleading frock dirty," James said before he took the keys from her. "Backseat, Jeep wrecker."

"I really am sorry-"

"I'm really _not _upset," James promised, one hand over his heart. "I'm just giving you a hard time, Katie, but if you feel _that _bad, I'll just have to hug you until you get over it."

Kate pulled a face. "Okay, I'm over it," she said, holding up both hands between herself and James.

"See? That wasn't so hard," he said, stepping around her to climb in the driver's seat. "Nothing else changes, though. You pick the radio."

Kate positively _beamed _at him as she started to climb in the back. "Awww, you're my second-favorite Summers boy."

"Happy to take third place," James said, shaking his head at her. "You might want to be careful of what you and Nate get up to on the way back … mud is pretty incriminating."

Kate simply drew a halo over her head, but since Nate had climbed in the backseat alongside her and was already draping his arm around her shoulders, that was pretty much a lost cause.

The drive back was a lot less eventful than the drive out had been. As it turned out, the kids _did _know how to avoid every mudhole and mess on the way back, though every now and again, James or Nate would share a look in the mirror and have what looked like a silent conversation. And once, James even quickly took a different trail with a muttered out 'nope' that had Nate snickering to himself, knowing that James had scented out Mia and Tommy getting a little too cozy in the woods alone.

When they got up to the house, Ororo and Scott were waiting, and though Scott didn't look like he was overly thrilled with the muddy Jeep - Ororo was trying hard to keep from grinning outright.

"Hey, Dad, I'm learning stick," Nate called out before Scott could say anything.

"We _only _broke a CV joint, too," James said.

"My bad," Kate sang out, not about to let Nate or James take the fall for it.

"It was ready to break anyhow," James said with a wave. "Just waiting for the parts to come in."

"Was Mia with you four then?" Ororo asked. The four of them hedged and James and Nate shared a look before James was the one to answer.

"She's by the far side of the lake," James said. "Taking the more dry trail. Don't worry."

"She'll learn stick shift when she's older," Nate said, smirking at James.

"She'd probably do better than you _right now_," James said.

"Obviously," Kate said with a sniff. "Girls rule; boys drool."

"Guess you _don't _want to drive it again," James told her.

"It's okay, James; you can admit you drool," she shot back.

"No more than you do," he replied easily, then frowned. "But … that's a lot, isn't it? I should talk to Fuzzy and Blue if I drool like a Hawkeye."

"You're measuring by how much I drool when Nate takes his shirt off. Unfair standard," Kate teased.

James let out a sigh that showed exactly how tired he was of hearing this. "That really is confusing. What are you going to do if he ever gets a few muscles? We'll need to keep a defibrillator on hand."

Nate looked supremely insulted, but Billy burst into giggles. "He's not wrong," Billy said half under his breath as Nate pushed James back telekinetically, which had James laughing outright. "Comparatively, I mean, come on. _James_."

"You have your taste; I have mine," Kate shot back, though she was grinning at Billy in a completely troublemaking way as James and Nate got caught up in a silent telepathic conversation -both of them having missed Billy's comment entirely while they acted like … well, brothers.

"Hi Dad," Nate said, refusing to look at either Kate or Billy for how they were giggling. "Nothing to worry about. Nope. Not at all."

"Why don't you guys do what you can to clean up before we head home," Scott suggested as he made his way over to take a look at the broken driveshaft sticking out from behind the back seat. "I'm pretty sure Clint and Natasha won't be happy if you bring the VW back full of mud."

"Pretty sure that'd be just your typical occurrence after any given Friday night," James said under his breath.

_Only when it rains_, Nate projected to James, smirking.

_See, now you need luchador masks. To have the cover story of mud wrestling for all the questionable hand prints. _

_Thanks, James. _

_You're welcome. So very welcome. Advertencia Ojo de Halcón. _

_Speak for yourself, _Nate said. _I _like _the trouble she gets into. _

_I'm just teasing, _James replied. _I know you're utterly smitten with everything she does. And though I'll smother you if you repeat it, the two of you are kind of cute. In a very weird … corndog carnie way. _

Nate couldn't help but smile. _Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me. _

_If she can't take me picking at her, then just tell me and I'll back off. But usually that's when she gets to be more fun. And that's where her more wild ideas come from. _

_She's too competitive to know when to stop. _

_Pot, kettle, little brother. And you love it. _James hopped out of the Jeep to let the other two out of the back without having to climb over the mud, but as they were getting out, he made his way over to Ororo to kiss her cheek. "See? Not everyone is afraid of some mud, Kate." He grinned Kate's way and leaned in to whisper something to Ororo that the others couldn't hear.

"She's a weather goddess who can wash it off with a snap of her fingers," Kate pointed out.

There was a soft, echoing crack of thunder that sounded as if it was miles away, and a moment later, there was the tiniest of rain clouds just over Nate and Kate's heads that let loose as soon as they realized what Ororo was up to. Not that James got away clean from that, either. As soon as he had taken a few steps from Ororo, she hit him too … just on principle, though he didn't seem bothered by it as he tipped his face up toward the little cloud.

Scott smirked Ororo's way. "That never gets old."

"It really doesn't," Ororo agreed with a growing smile before she turned to Billy. "Your mother told me what you've learned. Be so kind as to bring your brother and Mia here, please." She paused just long enough to be sure Billy was focused on her properly. "Discreetly."

"Yeah, that's…" Billy bit back what he wanted to say and instead focused on sending _himself _to where Mia and Tommy were. At least that way, he could warn them.

"Brave," James said to Nate under his breath.

"Like our Mia could like anyone who didn't have a heroic streak - or at least a heroic brother," Nate muttered right back, smirking hard.

_You know the two of you aren't fooling anyone, right? _Scott projected to Nate, cutting into the brothers' back and forth. _You're both in trouble - and covering for trouble, too. _

_What did we do _wrong_? _Nate asked, looking perfectly surprised.

Scott simply gave Nate a dry look in response. He didn't say anything except to keep one eyebrow raised until Nate threw up his hands and turned to James. "Dad says we're grounded."

"Okay," James said, nodding. "That tracks."

Just then, Billy reappeared with Tommy and Mia in tow. Both Tommy and Mia looked slightly muddier than "taking the dry path" would have left them… but it was mostly on their legs and shoes. Not that it was going to stop Ororo from giving James a look.

"I did say _more dry _and not totally dry," James pointed out, holding both hands up at chest level. "Everything's a mess out there."

"And Mia _did _dare me to see if I could catch up to Billy and the others without disrupting the Jeep fling. Which I could," Tommy said, grinning crookedly at Mia, who couldn't take her eyes off him.

"Crossed our path about four times on the way back in," James confirmed.

Mia grinned and then finally looked over at her mom, who looked as though she had been bowled over. "Hi, Mom. What's wrong?"

Ororo took a moment to respond after that, though, which only had Mia on edge by the time she finally spoke. "You should go inside and clean up. We're not far off from dinner time and I'm sure you can help Warren in the kitchen."

"Okay," Mia said, seizing on something she could do that wouldn't get her in trouble when her mom was wearing _that _expression. A moment later, she'd teleported off, leaving a grinning Tommy behind - with Billy shaking his head at his brother.

Kate put a hand on Billy's shoulder. "Welcome to the family," she muttered. "It's like this all the time. I'd say you get used to it eventually, but you don't. You just learn to have fun with it."

"Kate, Nate will head home with us," Scott said as he held his hand out for the keys. James barely looked up at him before handing them over without comment. "I'm sure you can catch up later on what the restrictions are _this time_."

"This time?" Billy whispered to Kate, who grinned in the same troublemaking manner she had when she realized Billy had been complimenting James' looks.

"Yep. This time. Next time, when Nate's out of the doghouse, _you _can drive."

"Right," Nate said, nodding along. "So. I'll call later."

"You'd better!" Kate sang back, blowing him a kiss - just to grin at the look of _longsuffering _on Scott's face before she turned to Billy. "It's too much fun to get the adults riled up, isn't it?"

"It's not the same as what we did back _home_, but … it is our first day."

Kate grinned even wider. "Oh, I knew I was going to like you," she said, threading her arm through Billy's.

"So … are _we _in trouble too? Because I'm pretty sure even Mom would say that's some kind of land speed record." He tipped his head toward Tommy, who caught up to them in a blink. "Even for him."

"I claim diplomatic immunity!" Tommy sang out with his hands on either side of his mouth.

"You so can't," Kate said, laughing.

"Just did." Tommy replied with a grin. "So what did I miss? Couldn't have been much. You had a whole bunch of uptight Summers just now."

"Oh, they're always like that," Kate said, waving, though she was grinning at Billy. "Even James. But he's fun when he wants to be."

"I don't know," Tommy said. "He _did _scare the business out of our Grandfather earlier. You missed the show."

Kate waggled both eyebrows at Billy. "Oh, is _that _why you have a crush on our James?"

"That's not the _only _reason, but I'm sure it helps it along," Tommy said, grinning wider at his brother as he bumped his shoulder. "He knows _everything_ about every hero … ever. So I think most of them that are kids from the old teams are higher up on the list anyhow."

"Cape chaser," Kate teased.

"Excuse you, capes run in _our _family," Billy shot back.

"Yeah, why would he chase a cape? Hides everything from the back side that way," Tommy cackled.

Kate looked even more delighted somehow. "Okay, yes, you two _have _to stay," she said, clapping her hands before she turned to Billy. "And you know what? Just because you're adorable and fun and I like having you around, I'll put some feelers out. James has only dated girls before, but he might be interested in someone so _fun_." She held up a hand. "I can't promise anything, but I can do a little investigating."

"You don't need to," Billy said, holding up one hand.

"I know. That's what makes me so awesome," Kate said. "Don't worry. Despite appearances, I _can _be sneaky if I want to. Mom's the Black Widow, you know."

"Which .. is really really cool," Billy said, trying to find a way to change the subject. "So does that mean you get to go up to Avengers Tower sometimes?"

"Um, I practically live there," Kate said, drawing herself up and grinning. "You so have to come see me. We can go get coffee and people watch. Oooh! You _have _to meet my best friend."

"I'd _love _that," Billy agreed with a wide grin. "I just need to know what the rules are. Mom said there would be a lot of them about using my powers … and I don't want to start a war my first week."

"Second or third, maybe," Tommy said, shaking his hand at the level.

Kate laughed and then turned to Billy more seriously. "Yeah, it kind of drives Nate nuts. You can't let anyone know you're a mutants, so _no _powers unless you're in the tower or the school, alright?"

"Then I'll need a ride," Billy said slowly. "Maybe I _do _need to learn how to drive…"

Tommy stuck his head over his brother's shoulder. "What he wants to know is where does the Summers family live?"

Kate grinned at Tommy again but then shook her head. "Sorry, that's actually _super _classified. I only know because my mom helped Scott set up the security _and _I'm dating a Summers. But I was sworn to secrecy by my mom, my boyfriend's dad, my boyfriend, _and _my dad, so you have to earn your way into the house on your own."

"He could just _wish _his way in," Tommy said with a grin.

Kate shook her head seriously. "That's an easy way to make sure Scott never wants you anywhere _near_ James let alone have a chance to date him," she said. "He's terrified of losing his family, so he's paranoid to a degree that _so _isn't healthy, but it's also kept them all alive, so…" She shrugged. "You gotta earn the trust first."

The twins shared a look before they both flanked her, taking up an arm each. "You're going to need to elaborate more for us," Billy said. "Because this kind of thing is just … weird. And we don't know what unhealthy paranoia looks like."

"And we want the juicy stories," Tommy said. "And everything you can tell us that's not going to like … set off some kind of curse."

Kate raised both eyebrows - and then quickly took their arms in even tighter holds. "Buckle up, boys," she declared. "We're going to need popcorn."


	33. Detective Katie Barton- Matchmaker

**Chapter 33 - Detective Katie Barton - Matchmaker**

* * *

As it turned out, the punishment this time was on par with what the punishment had been the last _several _times the boys had gotten carried away with having a little too much fun. Home and school for Nate; home and work for James. But that was only because Tony had told Scott that he had James working on a special project. Had it not been for that, he'd have been _home_. Something about being a bad influence on _Magneto_'s grandkids and how much hellfire that could rain down on everyone.

He understood it, honestly, he did. But it had always been _more _okay to let loose at the institute and now? With the lingering concern that having too much fun with the twins could cause Ororo- and everyone else - trouble, James was just glad he had something to _do _at the lab.

It really wasn't even that pressing, but when asked if James was working on anything important, Tony had picked up on the tone Scott was using and stepped up to cover. Which was how, while Nate was likely drooling through Algebra class waiting for lunch, James found himself combing through code.

"I guess you did something wrong by being a kid," Tony said as he handed James the flashdrive. "So … how about you try to look guilty while you sift through my code. That sounds like it's some kind of punishment."

James sighed heavily and turned toward his laptop to get started. "Anything in particular that I'm looking for - or will I just be mentally scarred when I find it?"

Tony shook his head at him. "I know everyone keeps saying otherwise, but .. you really are _so much _like your mother sometimes." He watched as James stared at him with a perfectly open expression. "I'm absolutely sure she started a fight with Magneto the first time they met, too."

"I didn't start it. I was just going to finish it."

"See? Tiny K right there," Tony said with a proud smile before he clapped James on the shoulder and then headed off. "Have fun with the code. When you get done with it, I'll be in the garage."

And though Tony didn't know it, that was exactly the kind of thing James _needed _to hear after a full afternoon of almost everyone telling him he was just like his father. He smiled to himself as he stared at the flashdrive, then blew out all his breath and settled in to get to work.

* * *

Nate, meanwhile, was bored out of his mind. There was no practice after school since the team was taking a rare day off during the season because they'd been pushing so hard - and winning. His coach didn't want them to get overstressed and hurt themselves if it wasn't during a game, after all.

Which made it all the more unbearable that he was _grounded_. He could have had a normal-ish date night. _Alone_. With Kate. But no-o-o-o. He had to go straight home where there was supervision and pointed silent glares from his father if he happened to accidentally have too much fun while he was grounded. Nate was pretty sure the terms of _how _he got grounded were just an excuse anyhow .

As far as he could tell, the twins didn't even _like _their grandfather - and clearly, their parents thought sending them halfway across he world to Westchester was smarter than keeping them near stupid Grandpa. Besides. James and Nate getting caught would hinge on one of the twins _telling _their grandfather that they'd gotten in trouble. Which, from what he'd gleaned from their thoughts that _hadn't _centered around who the twin boys thought were cute, simply wasn't gonna happen. So this whole grounding thing was a prime example of Nate and James' father overreacting. Again.

"Come _on_," Kate said as she slid over next to him at lunch. Halfway through the day and he was still moping. "You need to lighten up. Your whole _family _needs to lighten up."

But that was enough to get Nate to defend his dad. "He's just trying to protect us - and I see what he was worried about. Even if he was a little overzealous. James is grounded too."

"Yeah. In the tower. With Tony supervising him. _Soooo _grounded." Kate rolled her eyes. "All that really means is that you don't get to go with me _back to Westchester_." She tipped her chin up and smiled at him.

"You're not going to hang out with the white-haired one, are you? He's trouble."

"Nope," Kate said as she sent off yet another text. "I'm going to hang out with his twin brother - who is truly hilarious, by the way. He needs advice."

Nate stopped and tipped his head as he watched her. "You're not serious, are you? They're _both _probably trouble. And … do you really think my brother is going to be interested in a guy? After the string of girls that he's been going out with? He's got some pretty good taste in _girls, _Kate. Sure, most of them are questionable with their family history, but … they are definitely girls."

"Don't know until we ask. Gently. _Indirectly_." Kate fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Or you could cheat and peek. I mean, I know he's harder for you to read than other people when he wants to be, but this isn't state secrets. This is the simple matter of whether he'd go for the cute Magneto-grandson."

"Um … I'd need Rachel to help if you want to be _sneaky _about it. But I don't _like _doing stuff like that to family. You could just _ask _him. Of course … the fact that he's the grandson of _Magneto _might be enough to set off his trouble magnet. Still … no. Even for the good teasing, I'm not going to help someone with _that much _potential power chase after my idiot brother."

"Yeah, but you should see how _nervous _Billy is about this, and I don't want to put him off his first crush away from the island," Kate said, her eyes wide. "He's not used to having to ask - he doesn't know _how_!"

"Kate. Between someone I just met and my brother, I'm going to pick protecting my brother every time. Besides … they came here to learn how to be normal. Might do him some good to get shot down. I don't even know how James would _handle _that. I don't think he's ever been hit on by a guy."

"Na-a-a-a-ate." Kate leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Come on. What if they work well together? You can't protect him from _that_?"

"And I wouldn't want to protect him from someone that was good for him," Nate said as he took Kate's hand. "What if James gets ticked off at me for this? Then what? We're getting along well right now! What if the evil in Billy's family skips a generation and this is just another example of my brother drawing in another dangerous mutant - like he's some kind of catnip for evil or something."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Stop that. Billy isn't evil."

"Fine. But I have a hard enough time getting James to consider suggestions on where to stop for drive-through or if he's even going to _try _to be on a team. Besides, do you want to ask your sister something like this out of the blue?"

"Lexi already told me she likes boys _and _girls. She informed me. Because Mom sat us down for the explanation when we were, like, _eight_."

"Because you guys talk all the time, but you know, this is not 'the talk'," Nate said. "We _got_ the full talk. I just don't know if James has ever shown an interest _at all _in a guy - and maybe it's easier for girls to consider going both ways, but it's not so simple for guys, okay?"

"No, this is just a quick little peek to see if it's even a _remote possibility_. Come on; I'm not asking for much! Just tell me if Billy has a chance, and I'll make him do the rest, pinkie swear!"

"Why don't _you _ask him?" Nate said.

"Because I'm not a telepath," Kate pointed out.

"No, but you do like to _talk about everything._" He projected the last half as well as said it for added emphasis.

"Yeah, but if _I _ask, it feels like a setup, but if you _peek_, then it's just exploratory committees of Summerses."

"It's still a set up!" Nate laughed. "Brothers don't _talk _about that."

Kate grinned and fluttered her eyelashes again. "Aww, big strong boys scared of talking about _feeeeeeeelings_."

Nate did his best to school his expression. "Yes. Yes we are. We're not empaths."

"Poor scared Nate," Kate said, still grinning maliciously.

"Poor scared _Kate_," Nate shot back. "Scared of big bad James. Since … forever probably."

Kate rolled her eyes and then simply whipped out her phone and texted James:

_Hey, having an argument with your emotionally-stunted brother. APPARENTLY you guys don't have the talk as in-depth as WE do, and he seems all kerfluffled about the whole subject._

James was quick to reply, too. _I don't know what you're talking about. He seems perfectly normal to me. _

_Well, you probably had the same 'talk.' _Kate grinned. _ANYWAY, point is, apparently he didn't even know I already knew Lexi swings both ways (and as you know, so do I, thank you very much), so I'm polling: what about you? Boys, girls, or both? And will your answer surprise your idiot brother? _

It took a minute or two for James to reply. _I'm not going along with a set up no matter who it is. I've still got Izzy pestering me every chance she gets and that started just to keep her off your back._

_I'm not taking responsibility for that and anyways, that was NOT the question, James. At this point in this argument, I'm genuinely curious how you boys FUNCTION. _

_The only time someone asks something like that is when they want to set you up. Get a hobby, Kate. And maybe read a biology book or two before you find out the hard way how us boys function. The answer, by the way is 'on autopilot and often.'_

_Oh, come on. You're just as emotional as he is. _

_Oh. Far more, I'm sure. _

_Probably. _

_I'm getting emotional just talking about this. I can't take it. _

_Poor lamb. He has the same weakness. It's okay. I'll just wait for you to go doe-eyed over some boy or girl and there's my answer. _

_Yeah, okay. You do that. Love you, Kate. (But not like that. I'm not going to poach my baby brother's girl.) _

_I'd hope not. Your brother and I are practicing birds and bees. _

_I'd have to throw myself off the tower if I had Hawkward thoughts like that about you._

_Dramatic. Do you need a cape now or does that only happen when you reach EXTRA levels of drama? _

For the first time since the beginning of their rapid fire texts, there was a real pause. _Wait. I get options? No one told me there were options. Is that why you were pushing the designs at me so hard? You think I need a cape- even though I can't fly? Wow. That's a terrible costume choice._

_Well, there is a scale. For example, Tommy is EXTRA dramatic but no cape… Billy is hilarious and dramatic but has a cape… Magneto is EXTRA dramatic and has a cape… _

_This scale seems off. Tony is also extra dramatic and has no cape. And Cap only has one when he wraps himself in a flag and poses dramatically with a bald eagle screeching overhead. Otherwise I think it's more tied to the 'look' that fliers go for. I'd need a secondary mutation for that to work. _

_I bet Tony would have a cape if the armor would let him…. _

_You should poll him too. Betcha he'll turn about fourteen different shades before he answers. You know. Because you're one of the kids. But he could have a retractable cape. He might, actually. Has everything else shoved in that armor._

_Don't think I won't. And I'm asking Rachel too. _

_I already know the answer there. For Tony and Rachel. And I think you do too. _

_Yeah, but I like to hear things out loud sometimes. And I mostly asked you because you're INSCRUTABLE, James. _

_Probably because this is a text. _

_I know. But still. Inscrutable. Sometimes, I gotta just ask. _

_You did ask. And I thank you for thinking of me in your not at all scientific polling to set me up. But it's not a question I'm answering - so you can set me up. _

_Well, James, love you and all, but you have not helped me win against your brother, and this is sad. _

_Yeah, that probably won't ever happen. _

_Oh, don't do that. His head is already the size of Jupiter. _

_He got that from Dad. Oops. _

_So what's your excuse? _

_I have been reliably informed that both of my parents were the biggest hard heads ever. So. There probably. Reinforced by Dad. It's okay. Everyone is disappointed. _

_Bless your sweet little soul, _Kate teased. _It's okay. I still like you. (Just not like that.) _

_Get back to your classes. Just because you're utterly smitten with my brother doesn't mean you should fail just to graduate with him. _

_You've got such faith in my multi-tasking abilities, _Kate teased. _Bye now! Off to flirt! _

"So. How'd _that _go?" Nate asked smugly, arms crossed and already well aware of how it had gone.

Kate rolled her eyes at him and kicked him under the seats. "Shut up. I'm texting Billy now. If you boys can't just give me an answer, I'll make the Maximoff take the risk whether he likes it or not. They'd be too cute to pass it up, and if James says no, I've got my answer and I'll help Billy find someone cute to make up for it."

"Don't act like that wasn't what you wanted from the beginning anyhow," Nate laughed.

"Hey, I promised Billy I'd look into it, and I keep my promises!" Kate said, one hand over her heart. "Fully!"

Nate raised one eyebrow in an expression just like his father before he started projecting the musical version of the Matchmaker song into her head, only accenting certain lines with his own mental voice adding to it.

"Aww, and I thought you wanted more kisses," Kate said in a sigh.

"Awwww, I thought you could multitask."

"Not with your _terrible _singing in my head," Kate shot back without missing a beat. "It's _so _distracting. How do you sound like a cheese grater even mentally?"

"Would you prefer the actual Broadway version? Because I can do that too if I think about it."

"Or," Kate said, rolling her eyes before she stole a kiss, "you could do neither of those things and skip history with me. Seeing as you're trying to fail it anyway."

"I am. But I am also grounded, so I don't know what I'd skip it for if you already said there would be no kissing and only picking at me," Nate said off-handedly.

"I denied kisses for the mental singing. Cut that out and there _is _something fun to skip for," Kate said, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Oh. well. That's a totally different story," Nate agreed with a crooked smile.

* * *

America had taken to hanging out at the tower pretending she wasn't entertained by the fact that the adults were starting to ask her when she was going to join the Avengers. She was Kate's best friend and knew there was a _different _team to look forward to, and she was waiting for that one to coalesce before she'd join a team. She wanted to join the team that would draw down the worst trouble - because she was actually attached to those idiots and figured they could use some backup.

But in the meantime, there were people to play with. Lexi had tried to flirt with her a couple times, but she wasn't touching that with a ten-foot pole, not when she was a) Kate's little sister and b) a little too young to have _fun_.

But the _real _reason she was at Avengers tower as often as she was? She'd been in trouble a few times, enough that Officer Wright had issued her a serious warning. And she was maybe supposed to be keeping her head down after she might have maybe kicked a guy's balls into orbit when he tried to put his hands on her. Maybe.

And seeing as the Avengers knew that America didn't _do _subtlety, she was supposed to stay there. And play it safe.

So, naturally, as soon as Kate came by with a _visitor, _wearing a look that America recognized from when they were dating that usually meant plenty of fun, America was on board before she even saw who the visitor was.

And then, America saw a face that she recognized - only much younger than the version she worshipped. He didn't look like she'd imagined he would; he was wide-eyed and innocent and slightly… off. Her powers allowed her to cross dimensions, so she could sense the right Billy, and this? This wasn't quite it. She must have been off in her estimation of which reality she should have stopped at.

For a long moment, America felt her heart drop. The whole _point _of her dimension hopping had been to find the Demiurge…. This was _one_, yes, but not _the _one who had created _her _universe. And she didn't know what to do with that information.

But… looking at Kate's wide smile, she decided not to bring it up. Ever. No one else had known why she'd come to this dimension, so no one needed to know she'd gotten it wrong. She _liked_ this reality. And the eye candy. And hey, if she truly _hated _it, she could find a different one when she was older - after she made sure her idiot friends all survived their X-Men debut.

The moment lasted only a few seconds, so she was sure Kate and Billy Kaplan hadn't noticed it, so she grinned and waved them into the living room. "Didn't know you were giving a tour. Hey, _chico_. Welcome to the non-ivory tower."

Billy raised his eyebrows at her wording and leaned over to Kate. "You been snitching on me already?"

"Um, no?" Kate said, one eyebrow raised.

America smirked. "Family resemblance," she explained easily. "Welcome to the rest of the world, Cape Wearer."

Billy glanced over his shoulder just to double-check that he wasn't wearing a cape - he had specifically dressed in jeans and a tee shirt so he'd blend in - and then rolled his eyes when he heard America laugh. "Oh, come on."

America smirked. "I'm America Chavez, by the way. Since Kate's slow with the introductions."

Kate rolled her eyes as Billy stepped forward. "Billy Maximoff."

America nodded to herself. _Maximoff, not Kaplan. That's probably the difference I'm missing, _she thought before she smiled. "Well, come have a look. The view will blow your mind, and then I'm sure Kate has the rest of the tour planned out." As she said it, she met Kate's gaze and raised both eyebrows, and Kate broke into a troublemaking giggle once Billy ran to the windows that, _gods_, made her wish she wasn't the bigger person and had kept her for herself instead of letting her run to Nate. She loved that troublemaking giggle.

The funny part was that she was mostly past things with Kate; it was just the little things like that which made her sure she had to find someone with as much of a flair for trouble. Someone fiery.

But that wasn't the most important thing at the moment. The most important thing was that Kate was ready for trouble, and America put her arm around Kate's shoulders to pull her aside so they could quickly talk about Kate's plans. And once she heard Kate's theory about James and Billy being the _cutest_… well, how could she resist? Could be fun.

So once they'd decided that America would distract Tony from trying to prank or play with James by feigning interest in the Avengers so Kate could take Billy to James' workshop for the "tour," America had to step up the teasing. She liked James, after all, and since this wasn't _the _Demiurge? She was much more comfortable pushing his buttons.

"So, Cape Wearer, how evil are you? Scale of one to ten."

Billy blinked at her. "What?"

"One being Kate the Endlessly Optimistic Butterfly and ten being the Phoenix on a Bad Day."

Billy cracked a smile at her scale and then held his hands out to the sides. "Um… one?"

"Two," Kate corrected him. "You get a point just for the family nonsense."

America looked between Kate and Billy and then smirked and shrugged. "Well, I have to go talk to a Stark. Wish me luck."

"We'll see you around!" Kate said, grinning as she seized Billy's arm. "Come on, Billy. I know where to go next."

Minutes later, Kate let herself and Billy into James' lab after having explained to Billy what the story was with James and Tony and the whole internship thing. Which had surprised Billy, all things considered. But it didn't make the picture any less ridiculous after hearing how _smart _James was to find him sitting at a bench - back to the door with his forehead resting on the table in front of the laptop and his hands on the back of his head.

"What are you _doing_?" Kate asked before she hopped up on the stool next to him.

"Coding," James replied thickly before he slowly picked up his head. "What does it look like?"

"Like you're trying to communicate with the workbench. Smashing your face into it not working, huh?" Kate teased, grinning as James gave her a dirty look.

"What do you want, Kate?" James asked. "You never come in here unless you want something, and I told you that if I come up with more trick arrows, I'd tell you about it.."

Kate didn't drop his gaze as she pointed at Billy. "He broke his cell phone." When James turned toward Billy, Kate grinned wider behind his back, urging Billy to run with it. "And I said you could fix it."

Billy hesitated for just a moment before he slid the phone to James.

"Is there a reason you didn't take it to the carrier?" James asked, though he turned to look at Kate more than Billy for that.

"More reliable this way," Kate said with her chin in her hand. "And … I _may _have told him you could upgrade it a little."

"_May_ have," James said, shaking his head before he turned back to the bench, closed the laptop, and got up to head over to the right bench. On the way over, he cracked open the phone and set the battery aside on the bench as he sat down. He didn't say a word as he took the phone apart and began removing what _looked _like some important components.

Within a minute or two, James was working fast, not really paying attention to what Kate or Billy were doing as he switched out a few things with some circuit boards that he had in the drawer next to him.

He pulled the magnification over as the soldering gun smoked - and with a weary sigh, James leaned forward and started making some major alterations. The moment that he caught the telltale scent of anxiety, he did what he could to ease Billy's mind. "I'm not touching any of the memory. Your contacts, apps, and pictures will be fine, even if they haven't been uploaded."

"Okay, I wasn't too worried about that," Billy admitted as he moved a little closer to watch him work.

"Sorry, you just … smelled anxious," James said distractedly. "I won't screw up anything important, but I'm taking the tracker and tying it to a pigeon."

"Wait, what tracker?" Kate asked hopping up to slip over and see what it was James was talking about.

"Don't all cell phones have trackers?" Billy asked.

"No," James said, making a few new connections. "They have GPS for maps that you can turn on and off integrated with the internet, but they don't have something exclusively to track. most of the time, to track you using the phone's capabilities, it's being done through triangulation with cell towers and by request. This is not that. This is an honest-to-God, spy-quality tracker." He set the soldering gun down and pulled over the tiny mass in question. "It's _not_ standard equipment on _any _cell phone. Someone put this in after it was bought."

As Billy frowned at the little device, James put the phone back together. "Do you need the battery yet?" Kate asked, holding the little silver square.

"Toss it in recycling," James said as he slipped something new in place and snapped the phone back together. "Any other superfluous excuses you two have to come up here?" He watched both of them as he handed the phone back to Billy and watched the look on his face as he powered it up - shocked already at the difference.

"Yes," Kate said, bouncing to her feet. "Billy wanted to see the tower and your lab - and try to talk you into teaching him to drive, so … _have fun_!" She rushed out, leaving the two of them behind as Billy stared at her open-mouthed at the full betrayal.

The door closed behind her with a sound of finality, and it took a full thirty seconds before Billy finally turned back around to see James watching him with an open expression. "Alright. What's going on?" James asked. "Kate can be _somewhat _sneaky, and cleary, she wasn't even trying, so come on. Spill."

"It … was just ... " Billy held up the phone and gestured to the room at large.

"Yeah, I knew she was lying from the minute it came out of her mouth," James said, then leaned forward. "And _she _knew that I knew. There was nothing wrong with that phone." When Billy looked like he'd been thrown under the bus, James explained by tapping the side of his nose. "Lies stink. Even little ones. Didn't she tell you that?"

"She did _not_." Billy ran a hand through his hair but honestly didn't know James well enough to give it a shot yet. "She's not lying about the driving thing, though. I think I'll need to get a license to get around." He smiled sheepishly. "We didn't realize how restrictive travel would be here."

James raised an eyebrow at that, but Billy really wasn't lying. Now. "I know I don't look it, but I'm only sixteen. I'm hardly an expert."

"But that just means the test is still fresh in your mind, right?" Billy did his best to keep his nerve up. He _also _wasn't used to needing to go so slow if he was interested in someone, but there was zero response from the teenagers here when it came to the royal mutant family - as they were called home on Genosha. "And I had fun when Kate broke your car."

James finally smiled a little and nodded. "I'll talk to my dad and see how long he plans on keeping me grounded, little prince. No promises on how long that might be."

Billy frowned slightly at that. "I guess I don't understand what the charges were to get you in trouble."

"Honestly?" James asked, and when Billy nodded, he gestured to himself. "Being a bad influence. Covering for Mia when I didn't realize how _interested _she is in your brother - I'm gonna have to threaten him, by the way. On principle." Billy grinned at that. "And I guess the fact that I was ready to take on the old man is bad for mutant safety on a worldwide level. So … I kind of stepped in it."

"Isn't the same true of threatening the lesser prince?" Billy teased, relaxing a little as they started to talk.

"If Magneto is so out of touch that he can't understand why protecting Storm's daughter is a priority, then I guess I'll have to explain it to him."

"You're not afraid of him at all?"

"Not even a little." James smirked crookedly. "But, yeah. If you want help learning how to drive, I'll help you. Just not in secret."

"I didn't mean to make it sound like I wanted to keep it a secret," Billy said. "My parents told me to have fun and make friends. Just … please ignore what Grandfather was saying and doing. He's like that with everyone. Besides, I had a blast on those trails."

James smirk widened, though he managed to get control of it quickly enough. "Alright. We'll figure it out." He thought about it for a long moment. "But not this week. Week one is forbidden to even _try _and get out of trouble. Dad needs a cool-off period."

"What about next Friday when you're out of work?"

James held his gaze, but shook his head. "I can't. Nate has a football game, and he really does get all puffed up when the family goes to cheer him on. Unless … you wanted to go watch the game with us. That might even count as outreach."

"If I have Kate pick me up, you won't have to ask," Billy pointed out, but that had James shaking his head.

"Two things. One: I'm very sure that I understand the hard work you had to do to get around your Grandfather, but … a word of advice. Try not to go around the adults. It just makes things harder and causes more trouble," James said. "And two: Kate is a cheerleader, so she won't be around to give you a ride. But … yeah. If you can get a ride to the game, or if I can get the Jeep together to get you, you _should _come to the game. I'll still talk to my dad about driving lessons. He'll probably want to make sure I'm not showing you how to power slide or something."

"I'm sure," Billy said, looking a little disappointed, though he decided that direct was probably wisest path. "I was _hoping _for something more one-on-one." It took James a beat or two to realize what was up, and when he did, he blinked a couple times, and his lips parted as he tried to reply. "Unless there's no way you'd be interested. Then yeah, I still want to learn how, and supervision … sure."

"No, that's not - no," James said, shaking his head. "I wasn't expecting … you just surprised me."

"Kate said you had only dated girls, but I was _hoping _that maybe that was a 'so far' situation," Billy said, blushing high on his cheeks as he tried to smooth things over. He broke eye contact first as James continued to watch him with a curious expression on his face. "So … maybe … nevermind."

"Gimme your phone," James said, his hand out and waiting for it, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Why?" Billy asked even as he handed it over.

James shook his head as he unlocked it and took a few moments. "Stop using Kate as an intermediary," James said as he once again gave Billy his phone back. "She doesn't know half of what she thinks she does."

"You gave me your number," Billy said, looking surprised.

"Yeah," James replied, barely smiling, though he looked a little nervous. "That way, once I'm not grounded, you can call me, and _then _we can talk about going out. And not just for driving lessons. That would be a terrible date."

"And in the meantime, we can text," Billy said slowly, smiling wider the more he thought about it.

"And take a little time to get to know each other. By the time I'm ungrounded, you may not _want _to go out with me."

"Yeah, right," Billy said, waving the notion off immediately. "Even if they did treat me like royalty back home, I didn't want to ask any straight guys out. I was just …"

On seeing that Billy was clearly still nervous too, James decided to try and explain himself. "I really don't like all those _labels_," he said, reaching out to catch Billy's arm before he could walk away. "As far as just dating girls? My dating options are slim, and to be honest, I hadn't met a guy I was interested in until now. Not to mention, I kinda figured you were off limits after I got grounded for trying to finish that tour."

This time it was Billy's turn to look surprised when he realized what James had _said._ "Oh."

"How long is Kate going to leave you stranded?" James asked, when it was clear Billy was off his game. He took a step back and headed back to the laptop just to give him space.

"I … don't know," Billy admitted. "I - I'm not really stranded, though. I could wish myself back to the school, and she knows it, so I think she's just… leaving the exit to me."

James let out a little 'huh' but didn't comment further for a long while. "So what do you want to do about that? As much as I've spent time with Mia, instant travel _that far _isn't really something I'm used to."

"Oh, well, then, you should try it," Billy said, extending a hand. "Five minutes? Tony won't tell if you disappear for just a _little _bit, right?"

"Tony … is a little preoccupied," James said, hesitating only for a second before he took Billy's hand.

Billy smiled and then started to chant: _IwanttobeinthewoodsinWestchester _over and over again until they blinked into existence in the woods near the lake, and Billy grinned. "I've got to be pretty specific with the spells, so some of them get long… but I can get around."

"Lot more useful than what I do," James said.

Billy shrugged. "Depends," he said. "I _also _once accidentally rewrote reality so that I was an only child. Mom had _fits _until we could figure out how to reverse it. So I'm also kind of more dangerous than you are."

James turned his way with a teasing look. "You deleted your brother? What did he _do_?"

Billy blushed. "It was stupid," he said, turning even pinker somehow.

"Always is. Still wanna know."

"It's just… he told me the guy I was going out with was only doing it because we're royalty." He sighed. "He was _right_, and that made me even _madder_. And instead of taking it out on the guy, I… sort of… maybe… blinked Tommy out of my life." He held up both hands. "I _instantly _regretted it. Wasn't on purpose."

James blew out a breath and fell silent for a long while as they started to walk through the trees, then decided it was wisest to share some of his own stupidity to hopefully get Billy to feel a little better about sharing something so private. "When I started to come into my powers, I tried to figure out the genetics to _stop _it."

Billy frowned. "Why?" he asked - genuinely curious, since he hadn't grown up thinking the X-gene was anything but, well, superior.

James gestured to his face. "The closest thing I can tell you is that I didn't want to be me. Your grandfather's not the only one that takes issue with _what _I am. My parents were hunted most of their lives because of this stupid powerset. So growing up, I always thought of it like a death sentence. Still do." He smiled tightly. "I tried to find a way to reverse it. Just delete the X-gene. I think I was eight-ish? So … There. See? Everyone does stupid things."

Billy looked like he wasn't sure what to say before he finally leaned over and bumped shoulders with James. "For the record, no matter what my grandfather thinks, I like your powerset. It gives you a kind of … fearlessness." He blushed bright red, all the way down to the tips of his ears.

"I'm going to say thank you but also respectfully disagree," James replied before gently shifting the subject. "I can't even imagine the trouble you got into for your brother, though. How are you not grounded still?"

Billy shook his head. "Mom has the same powers. She's made some _huge _mistakes too, so she knows how hard it can be."

"Ah," James said, long and drawn out. "So she _does _play favorites," he had to tease.

"Actually," Billy admitted quietly, "if there was a favorite? It'd be Tommy. She never really got over losing Pietro, you know. Tommy gets away with a _lot _because of it."

"I can believe that," James agreed, then bumped Billy back. "How about we talk about something that doesn't end with pure misery for the people we love?"

Billy nodded his quick agreement. "How about… I'm about five years behind the mainland on movies. Where should I start? The school has a good collection…"

"What kind of films do you like?" James asked.

"Depends on the mood," Billy said with a shrug. "Usually action, but I'm also a romantic sap."

"What's your go-to to get out of a funk?"

"Oh, in that case, it's always something scifi," Billy said, then paused and smirked. "Usually with the bad guy in a cape getting his comeuppance. Not that Grandfather is the root of half my drama problems. Noooooo."

James couldn't help but laugh at that. "Did Kate show you the text thread from earlier?"

"Um, no, she just said she texted you and you are emotionally inscrutable and wouldn't help her win her bet with Nate."

"True enough when you only can read Nate as far as inscrutable goes," James said, then pulled out his phone to pull up the thread for him. "She's been fishing. Badly. I just had to ask, what with the cape reference."

Billy blushed as he read it through. "I… didn't want to push you if you weren't… not everyone takes it well, you know…"

"You're not pushing me," James said, still smirking crookedly at him.

"Yeah, it's just… I've had that happen, you know, where someone is straight but I'm also the prince, so then they have to examine whether it's _safe _to say no, and… it messes with a person…"

"We're not on the island." James smiled honestly at that. "And I'm not afraid of you or your family, little prince."

"Even knowing I could poof you out of existence?" Billy asked with a teasing smile.

"Poof away."

"But I don't _want _to, and I have to want to."

"Then why would you even bring it up?" James asked with a laugh.

"I don't know… because I wanted to be impressive?" Billy asked with one eye shut.

"That is definitely impressive. But I'm used to heavy-duty powersets around me," James said. "Bruce Banner helped tutor me when I was younger. I spent two hours the first session peppering him with Hulk questions and pestering the snot out of him. We played with Thor whenever we had to come to the tower when I was sick …which was often. All kinds of people could have snuffed us out. Being the least powerful person in the room doesn't bother me."

"Oh good," Billy said, then glanced down at his phone. "I… should probably get you back to the tower before you get in trouble, huh? If I want to see you at the football game, I mean."

"It wouldn't be unusual for me to slip away without anyone catching it. Not like I haven't learned how to evade the cameras in the building." James held up both hands. "You have to if you're going to prank Tony."

"Now it's my turn to be impressed," Billy said, smiling wider. "Alright then. Let's stay a little longer."


	34. Getting To Know You

**Chapter 34 - Getting To Know You**

* * *

"You totally set me up," Billy said to Kate when she and America met up with him the day after they'd gotten him into James' lab.

"Duh. That's what I said I'd do."

"You didn't say you were going to lie to someone who _apparently _can smell that kind of thing?" Billy said, looking upset - if not for the smile he had yet to wipe off his face.

"You don't look too torn up about it."

"That's because it worked," America said over Kate's shoulder with a smug smile before she flounced off to see what Dani Cage was up to. She didn't want to listen to the head over heels nonsense anyhow. Not when she knew part of that would be the lovesick play by play on _both _Summers boys now.

"Not the point," Billy said. "I need to know what everyone can do with their powers so I don't make a fool of myself again. _Honestly_, Kate. I should have known that going in. That he knew when there were _lies_."

"Well … Nate's a telekinetic and a telepath - Rachel too, but I thought you knew that. You already know America can beat holes in reality, is super strong, and super cute - which is totally a superpower for her … Mia teleports and is _insanely _flexible, and James does the whole super senses, healing, um … enhanced strength... and oooh! He grows hair like .. _freaky _fast. That totally counts as a power, too. I shaved his head once -"

"You what?"

"Shaved his head. It's okay, he asked me to - but it _grew back _to normal like … in _hours_. I was so disappointed." She ran her hands through her hair, remembering her frustration. "I had a whole _list _of amazing jokes and he just … ruined it for me!"

Billy stared at her for a moment. "Okay … I don't know what to do with that. What about you? What do you do?"

Kate scrunched up her nose as she sat cross-legged next to him on the couch. "What do you mean? Aside from being awesome and the best shot in the planet? Nothing."

"But … your aim is superhuman, right?" Billy said, apprehensive for the first time as he watched her.

"Well … I mean, yeah, but that's just from hard work and being naturally amazing. I'm _not _a mutant though, if that's what you're asking. 100% human." Kate paused and lifted one eyebrow as she shifted to face him more squarely. "Why? Is that going to be a problem?"

"I just … I've never been near a human before." Billy looked like he was weighing it out and dealing with conflicting information. "But … you've got mutants in your family, right? You're not like _most _of them. Humans, I mean." Billy blushed. "I mean … you're dating a mutant, right? So you have to be one of the good ones."

Kate stared at him for a long moment. "If by 'good ones' you mean one of _most _of the human population that isn't part of some evil weapons program or evil military group or evil bigoted _racist _group of rednecks hiding behind the guise of religion … _do you see where I'm going with this? _Then _yes_. I'm one of the good ones." She narrowed her eyes. "What about you? Are _you _one of the good ones? Or one of the 'too good for everyone else' ones who were so extreme they gave the rest of the world an actual _reason _to think mutants are terrorists before the X-Men got killed?"

"I … I don't … know how to answer that," Billy replied, wide-eyed.

"Kinda sucks when it gets turned around on you, huh?"

"I just… I've never…"

Kate let out a breath and tried to temper her reaction, knowing Billy and Tommy _had _led very sheltered lives. But considering what she and Jan and Rachel and Nate were all working on, the whole notion was wearing on her nerves. "You should read Charles Xavier's works," she said, which seemed like the most reasonable thing to say.

Billy still looked shocked anyway. "I'm not sure I'm following you. Grandfather already told me about his dream and-"

"-and clearly, your education is lacking," Kate finished for him. "Because guess what, buttercup, if you actually _read _it - and I have, thankyouverymuch - it's all about humanity and mutantkind working _together_. Peaceful coexistence. Not mutants in one place and humans in another. I mean, your island paradise is great for mutants to let loose, but it's really just a bigger version of what all the other mutants out here in the real world are doing: hiding." Kate shrugged. "My parents - my human parents - taught me ever since I was adopted that the world never realized the gift the X-Men had given them until they were gone. Mutants out in the open _with _humans. Being separated just makes people like you scared of people like me."

Billy blinked a few times and then nodded slowly. "I… I'll find a copy in the library, I'm sure."

Kate smiled. "And in the meantime, we can still be friends, right? I like you when you're not being all 'one of the good ones' racist."

"I'm _not_-"

"You are, but it's okay. You'll grow out of it," Kate said, smiling crookedly at him. "After all, a human set you up with a hunk, right?"

Billy gave her a weak smile in return. "I don't even know what to do with you."

"That's the title of my biography, my friend," Kate said. "Now, come on. Let's find something fun to do. Philosophy is nice and all, but it's not _fun_." With that, she didn't give Billy a choice and simply grabbed his arm to find something new to do.

* * *

On Genosha, Erik was having some trouble deciding what, exactly, to do about things surrounding what was _left _of the X-Men. Clearly, he'd been neglecting his responsibility to stand up for mutant kind for far too long judging by the kinds of things that his grandsons were being taught as 'normal'. The very idea that his own flesh and blood was being told to hide who they were - to be _ashamed _and bow down to humanity when they could so easily _crush _them with little more than a thought - had Erik burning.

He hadn't worked this hard simply for them to be tossed to the side by the humans. But he'd honestly counted on this kind of reaction from the world at large. The boys needed to see what homo inferior thought of mutants firsthand for them to understand their place in the world - their _rightful _place in the world. Ruling. Genosha was getting crowded, after all.

Using the mutant-detecting technology in Sentinels that Erik had commandeered from around the globe, his scientists had been able to scan the general public outside of Genosha. Initial predictions that the mutant birth rate would climb were all proving themselves to be true. But the scope by which they were right was off tremendously. Far _more _mutants were being born than had been calculated by _anyone's _reasoning.

It was just a matter of time before his grandson would be able to step in and rule. Naturally, Erik wanted to give him the world. All of it. But things were at a delicate point, worldwide. It would take precious little for the humans to spark up another genocide against their betters. He wanted William and Thomas to be _ready _when trouble happened. And unfortunately, the only way they could be prepared for such hatred was to experience it themselves. It was the only reason he _allowed _Wanda to continue to think that he was putting up a fight. Going along with her wishes easily would have been suspicious.

But his work with the boys hadn't been a total wash, either. _One _of them was doing exactly as Erik had instructed and was reporting back to him as requested - and he was learning so much from those check-ins. Not just the curriculum that was being taught at Charles' old school but the interpersonal relationships between the different X-Men and Avengers - how their whole system worked out between them.

Of course, he hadn't actually been specific with young William on why he wanted to know these things. The boy was still innocent, after all, and he still held the Avengers in high esteem. Cluing him in on why Erik was paying attention to certain matters would only have left the door open for him to bring his concerns to the Avengers themselves.

The boy was a quick study in spite of his soft heart. Erik had spent years with him, molding him. _Mentoring _him. He had high hopes, and for now - in spite of his tracking chip having gone dead in his phone - Erik would allow things to continue as they were as long as the boys continued to check in appropriately. Appearing _now _would only look suspicious to those that would work against him. And yes, at first Erik had gotten angry on hearing that William was going against his warning about the Summers family. But the more William had to say about how the Summerses were so protective of each other, the more Erik _knew _that, under the right circumstances, he could use their extreme situation to his advantage. The original X-Men were still inspirational to mutants around the world, even if they'd been beaten down. And Scott could be the perfect figurehead and example of what humanity was capable of.

Hearing that Wolverine's orphaned _pup _was being so well _looked after _by the Avengers and Tony Stark in particular though only had Erik seeing an in to find out what Stark was up to, and if William ended up spending time in Stark's tower where the Avengers were headquartered, it would be that much easier to find the best way to topple them. With or without his conscious help.

He could wait and see what the boys could find on their own. _Then _he'd give instructions on how to move forward. It had only been a few weeks. The boys could use more time getting a lay of the land - and Erik could use that time to decide the many different directions their intel would take them.

* * *

It was kind of rare for James and Rachel to go to one of Nate's games, but seeing as they knew Nate was in the starting lineup - and it was _homecoming _to boot - Scott had very quietly _hoped _that James and Rachel would go to support their brother. For most parents, that would have been subtle, but seeing as both Rachel and Nate were telepaths - and quite often telepathically chatting with James when they were all home - it was almost like he was nagging. And there was _no way_ Rachel and Nate were going to let James be out of the loop if they had to listen to it.

The Summers family headed off to the football game, fully ready for the overly large crowd that would be cheering on their favorite blue-eyed quarterback - even if 'Summers' wasn't on the jersey. But Nate _Mueller _was incredibly popular with the local crowd, too.

"You hear that wolf whistle?" asked a familiar voice as a blonde version of Mia sat down by Scott, with the Maximoff twins sitting on the other side of the group by James. "Kate's marking her territory. The girls in the squad are totally _jealous_."

"They'll get over it," Rachel said. "He's always been out of their league anyhow."

Mia grinned at that, leaning across Scott to wave at Rachel. "Do you like the look?" she asked. "I thought about going dark this time, but…"

"It's different enough and shocking enough that I think you're doing alright," Scott said. "I'm glad to see you getting out for a minute."

Mia beamed at Scott. "I know, right? I _love _being around people. I _really _loved being in Wakanda - it was just so .. _wow._"

"That's because you're so much like your dad," Scott said - a compliment that never failed to get a proud grin out of Mia.

She drew herself up and let out a noise of triumph. "I know," she said happily. "But to be fair to Mom, she loves people too. She just likes _quiet _people."

"Which you won't find a lot of here tonight," Scott said with a smirk as the student section started stomping their feet and making the bleachers shake, screaming and cheering and making noise.

"I know. That's why I brought our exchange students," Mia said, her smile growing more troublemaking. "Throw 'em in the deep end of American football."

"If it was the deep end, it'd be a ravenous college rivalry," James said, laughing to himself at the hubbub on the track around the football field. It was almost dusk, and the air was chilled enough that they could see their breath starting to hang in the air.

"You know, I really, really thought about it," Mia said. "But then _I _wouldn't be allowed to go. Mom wouldn't let me get somewhere that… ah…" She dropped her voice. "Surrounded by metal detectors and … similar things."

"And that would be criminal," James said. "I wonder if you know anyone that could make something that would override the… nevermind." He dropped his thought as Scott gave him a _look_. "Passing thought. That's all," James defended. "Not like I have access to that crap."

"Uh-huh," Scott said, though he didn't comment on it beyond that. He knew he didn't need to give further commentary with James - and besides, he was a bit more focused on the fact that, somehow, even when Nate was on the field and Kate was on the sidelines, those two were managing to make it clear that they were more interested in each other than just about anything else. The way he was watching her had the other cheerleaders swooning and seething in jealousy all at once.

Which was frustrating enough on its own, because Scott didn't know how to slow it down, let alone stop it. He had watched Nate dance around his crush on Kate until they finally got together - just like he had with Jean - and now, he was watching Nate fall _hard _\- just like he had with Jean. And considering how he'd felt when he was young… he didn't know that anything anyone said would have _changed _it.

Still, at least Nate had enough sense to keep his head in the _game _once that got started, even if Scott knew that Nate would be sure to at _least _reach out to Kate to flirt during time outs and calls from the refs.

Just before things really got started, Tommy asked how the game worked, though with Scott distracted, he was stuck with James' synopsis before Scott could explain it right. "Buncha pimple-backed juvenile gorillas trying to get the ball to the far side of the field. They like to hug violently when they don't get their way. Usually from as much high speed as they can muster in that much padding and spandex. Better than half of them are on steroids. Same half of them are persistent in their ignorance of things like deodorant or words that have more than two syllables. But hey. They do love that ball."

Mia did her best to keep from laughing as James continued trying to get a rise out of his dad as his description got more obnoxious. "They're lucky they have Nate to tell them what to do, or I swear to you, some of them wouldn't know where their own homerooms are."

When Scott finally turned to give James a dry look, James smiled at him brightly. "I did say it was only half the team, didn't I?" When that didn't get a reaction, James stood up. "Alright then. I'm going to get something to drink. Dad, I've got your usual. Rachel, Mia, either of you need anything?"

"Cocoa," Rachel said with a nod. "Please."

"Ooh, can you get a couple bags of popcorn for me and the boys?" Mia asked.

"Yep," James said, shoving his hands in his hoodie pocket. "If you come up with anything else- let me know."

"Will do," Mia said brightly.

"Mind if I join you?" Billy asked, already halfway to his feet.

"Sure. Gotta learn your way around, right?" James replied. "Probably smart to give your brother a chance to breathe, anyhow. Need anything, Tommy?"

Tommy was still wiping tears from his eyes from snorting laughing. "Go on. I'll be okay. Just leave me a little water… some chips if you have them…"

James smiled crookedly as he led the way, though that just really gave Tommy the chance to slide closer to Mia as Scott explained what the rules actually were. James and Billy slipped through the crowd to get refreshments for the group, though even as they got in line, James had to point out something important. "I don't know if we'll have seats when we get back. Kind of full crowd. But … I am curious. Keep in mind I'm _not _complaining. How did you get Ororo to let you three _out_?"

"You _did _invite me, but … Mia's been pestering her mom about wanting to go out for a while, as I understand it," Billy admitted. "And then she started pestering her about wanting to go on a _date_, and suddenly, her mom was a _lot _more open to a group activity." By the time he finished what he was saying, he was laughing to himself.

"So who's your designated chaperone - since I'm willing to bet she wouldn't go with you chaperoning your own brother?" James asked.

Billy glanced over his shoulder until he finally saw a tall blonde staying back from the crowd. "Angel wanted to get out too. It's harder for him to hide…"

"Did you wish his wings off for him?" James teased.

Billy shook his head quickly. "Never. I think they're amazing," he said. "But we all helped with this… harness thing? Didn't look comfortable, but he's so _depressed _cooped up in there, so… we pitched in." He shrugged. "I'm still getting used to this whole idea. Growing up, Angel could have been flying around wherever he wanted. It's… weird."

"I don't know if that would have been good for _us_," James said. "In a weird way, I don't really think we would have done the things we have if we were just focused on avoiding the rest of the world by hiding from it - a hundred miles from civilization." He shrugged. "I can't really speak for anyone else, but I know I have a little mean streak. And I think needing to keep myself under control is a better path than not."

Billy looked thoughtful as he nodded along to everything James was saying. The life Billy had been raised in was worlds different than what everyone else had grown up with. And he was starting to really see that. "To be honest," he said slowly, "I think we shouldn't be as isolated as we are. That's what got Mom to send us here. But I still think, well, I _liked _being me. Unapologetically."

"So don't change that, little prince. Just … control the more dramatic stuff a little. That's all you gotta do to be more 'normal'."

When they got up to the counter, James put in everyone's requests - including Mia's last minute addition of M&M's for her to share with Tommy - though James was very sure that Rachel had found that part funnier than anything else. He also got an extra bag of popcorn and made an easy arc over to Warren before they headed up to the bleachers again - just so he wasn't entirely isolated. "So you don't have to wait in line," James said quietly as he handed the bag to Warren without warning him or saying hello otherwise.

Warren looked surprised and then broke into a smile. "Thanks."

"Let me know if you need anything," James called out as they left.

James and Billy got back to find that, yes, their seats had been filled - but James didn't look bothered in the least when it was three kids under the age of ten that had taken his and Billy's spots with their family. He turned to Billy for a moment. "Just wait here a minute. I'll take this stuff up to them and we can find a spot on the fence. I'm not gonna make kids move."

"That's alright with me," Billy promised.

It only took a few minutes - and James even pointed out to Scott where he was headed since he knew his dad could relax a little better in a crowd if he wasn't searching for everyone. As it turned out, the spot that was most open was right in front of the 45-yard line where the bleachers opened up to a stairwell. James and Billy leaned against the fence to watch as the refs blew their whistles and, once again, the game came to a screeching halt.

"So, seriously, what's the story with this game?" Billy asked. "Because I think I'd be able to follow a neanderthal-level game."

"So, there are a lot more rules than there should be for such a simple concept," James said. "The core of it is easy. Team A wants to take the ball to the opposite side of the field, and Team B wants to stop them. Add in a whole lot of crap about how many chances they have to do that - how legal certain hits are, how they determine the line of scrimmage when the _coaches are acting like toddlers_," he said - sure the last part was loud enough that some of the kids on the track heard it loud and clear. "I'm really horrible at team sports. So I try to avoid getting involved. Honestly."

"Yeah, well, you and me both," Billy said. "Hard to play team sports when the kids your age are scared of beating you. Or… interacting with you."

"Dad tried to get me to do more with sports once I got pulled from regular school," he said. "I could play. I just didn't like to follow the coach. I'd rather just … do it myself instead of going with the team. Didn't matter what the sport was. If the coach was an idiot, I couldn't blindly follow their stupid drills. Not a lot of other chances for that when you're locked up in the tower with the genius squad." He pointed to Nate at centerfield. "Most of the calls out there have to be snap judgements on his part. He's good, so it's not really a problem. But … if you get someone in that spot that's a total idiot or there because of popularity or their parents are friends with the coach or whatever ... "

Billy pulled a face. "Sounds awful."

"Nate makes the wrong call, his guys can get creamed. Or he can." He thought about it for a moment as more whistles sounded and the announcers droned out what was going on over the loudspeaker. "What _did _you do? You look like you could be a 'lock yourself in a racquetball room' kind of punish yourself person maybe."

Billy smiled lightly. "Actually, you're not far off. Tommy and I are wicked good at tennis."

"Doubles?" James asked.

"Yeah, when we can talk Uncle Alex and Aunt Lorna into it. Aunt Lorna has a serve you wouldn't _believe_."

"I can believe it," James said. "Hockey was okay for me as long as I was in a forward spot so I could go anywhere; otherwise, I liked surfing with Uncle Alex and swimming."

"I didn't mind swimming," Billy said. "But that's all anyone who arrives on Genosha wants to do. And Uncle Alex keeps trying to push surfing on us, too."

"That …is not a surprise either. He loves it, and he loves sharing it with others. And … I do okay with that." James smirked. "He kept trying to get Dad to let him take us to Hawaii for every vacation, but Dad thought it would draw too much attention - seeing as Alex is _known _to be with one of Genosha's _princesses_. We went a few times. It was fun. The surfing."

Billy smirked. "I'd like to see it."

"You just want to watch me wipe out," James laughed.

"I just want to see you in swimwear," Billy countered with a crooked smile.

James returned the smile but had to chuckle to himself before blowing smoke rings with his breath in the growing cold. "Sadly, this is the wrong time of year for that. You'll have to make do with layers and layers of clothes for a while."

"Yeah, no one warned me about the _cold_." Billy completed the statement with a dramatic shiver.

"It's not even cold _yet_," James said, gesturing to his hoodie, though most everyone around them was bundled up more. "This is kind of perfect weather."

"Says you. I need extra blankets at night." Billy turned his hands out. "But I grew up in tropical heat."

"Exactly," James said. "You might get less clothes and beaches now, but here? Warm drinks. Extra blankets. Not to mention curling up with someone by the fire. Good stuff." He smirked crookedly as the teams lined up again. "You'll learn to love it."

"Maybe," Billy said. "Or I might just die of hypothermia all alone in my blanket burrito," he teased.

James laughed. "Yeah? Sounds like it'd be your choice. Pick your hiking partner carefully for the survival course. That's all I can tell you."

"Oh, so for Storm's sake, I should take Mia so Tommy doesn't?"

"I am very sure she wouldn't _allow _them to pick each other for that class. You don't have to _do _the hypothermia section … but … the mental imagery."

Billy chuckled. "Those two are already getting in trouble. Not that I'm surprised on Tommy's count."

"Yeah," James said. "Mia's got a little demon in her, if you haven't heard. She gets into plenty."

"Should I be concerned?" Billy asked with a smile.

"Friendly demon," James said seriously.

"Good to know." Billy leaned back. "And what about you?"

"What about me?" James asked.

"Any demons I should know about before I ask you on a real date?"

James almost snorted. "Not that anyone'll admit to."

"Interesting answer."

"You already said I'm not the dangerous one," James pointed out with a grin.

"True, though my grandfather gave me and Tommy both _stern _warnings about you and your family," Billy said. "We ignored him. Obviously."

James turned his way fully. "Well, now I really want to know what the battle ax had to say."

"Just that _you_ were nothing more than an animal on a leash replacing Scott's previous pet guard dog. Garbage like that."

"I must really irk him. D minus on creativity," James said, doing a beautiful snooty expression as he tipped his chin up. Even if it _stung_.

"I thought so too," Billy said. "Besides, I saw you step in for your dad. I know that side of you _and _this side. Pretty sure I know enough to ask you to dinner."

"You sure about that? I don't want you rocking the boat too much," James said. "I mean … if you get in trouble for just associating… it might be upsetting to the royal family on how low you set your standards."

Billy waved a hand. "I'm allowed to make my own choices," he said, then paused and bit his lip. "Honestly… full disclosure… Grandfather's been dropping, well, _hints _that he'd rather see me take over than Alex and Lorna's kids or Tommy. I think I get some leeway."

"Knowing how he feels about my whole family - past and present - you sure that won't tank your chances? Slumming it, I mean," James said. "Do you even _want _the royal cape?"

Billy shrugged and decided to tell James the truth - especially since he knew that lying wouldn't cut it. "I'm not entirely sure. I've always known it was going to be mine, so I'm _trying _to, well, I mean, I _do _think it's a good idea to have a safe haven, you know? I've seen the refugees come in. And the people there seem happy - that I've seen."

"Safe haven? Absolutely," James agreed. "The idea is sound. I just don't know enough about how it actually works. Or, if I'm being perfectly honest," he leaned in closer. "I don't know how much your grandfather has done personally to keep attacks on the island from happening. If I had to guess, it's more than we know about here." James leaned back, giving Billy a little space as he tried to consider Magneto's position. There was no reason, he decided, not to give credit where it was due. "I can understand some of the grump, believe it or not. Just ... the way he tried taking it out on my dad? No."

Billy nodded. "We all get it," he said. "We just get annoyed - like all families do. Sometimes, Grandfather goes too far, and Mom gets worried about him." He sighed. "She doesn't want him to be _more _than the ruler of Genosha, if you know what I mean."

James nodded and the two of them fell into silence - relatively speaking - as the game continued, neither of them quite sure where to take the conversation at that point. So neither of them was expecting it when a pair of girls came up to say hello.

"You're new," one said as she took a hold of Billy's arm.

"Umm…. yes?" Billy said, looking like he'd been caught completely off his guard.

"I'm Jessica Locke. You are …"

"He's not interested, Jess," James said, though that had her grumbling. He didn't get the chance to expand on his statement, though, before Isabella slid up closer to him and got much more comfortable, even slipping her hands around his waist.

"I know, James, _you_ don't like to _date _high school girls," Isabella said before she turned to Jessica, who was getting too close to Billy. "Just tell us you're not as uptight as the Mueller boys, new guy."

"I'm not?" Billy scrunched up his nose. "But I'm also gay. So…"

Isabella blinked a few times and then broke into a laugh as Jessica took her hands off of Billy's arm. "That's hilarious, come on. Let's all four of us go find something more interesting than the game to do."

As Isabella began pulling on James, Jessica took her cue from her friend and tried to persuade Billy to move with her, too, a little too handsy as she batted her eyelashes. James glanced at Billy with an apologetic look, and then, he carefully and gently removed Isabella's hands and held onto them long enough to get his message across. "I'm just here to support my brother, Izzy. And neither of us are available. Go find someone you _know _will play your games. I'm sure you've got someone else lined up"

"And I'm just here to learn the sport," Billy put in, trying to extract himself as well. "I'm not looking for a pretty girl."

"But you think I'm pretty?" Jessica said with a wide grin, clearly fishing for a compliment.

Billy shrugged. "Objectively, sure," he said. "But the quarterback has you beat in the ass department."

James burst out laughing at that, not even trying to hide it, though that seemed to jar the girls more than anything else. Isabella turned to smack James in the chest, but he caught her wrist. "Please quit trying to make your boyfriend jealous, Izzy," he said quietly, subtly shifting how they were standing so she could look past him onto the field, where it was obvious one of the wide receivers was watching with a deep scowl. "I won't stop you if you're just here to put on a show - but no touching my friend."

"Oh, is _that _what's going on?" Billy muttered low James' way.

"Among other things, yeah. Every time they have a fight, she waits until he's on the field to pull something where he can see it, right Iz?" James prompted, and in answer, her smile only warmed up as she nearly growled out a 'maybe' and stepped in so that her boyfriend _couldn't _see what she could have possibly been up to that close to James. "We're trying to watch the game, girls."

Isabella looked past James and saw that her boyfriend did in fact seem suitably riled, and that more than anything finally got her to nod and take a step back. Jessica had given up long before and looked almost nervous as she stood next to Billy, hugging herself. "Have fun, boys," Isabella said, then waved and blew a kiss with the tips of her fingers. "See you later, James. We've _still _got unfinished business."

The two boys watched them go until they melted into the crowd, and finally, James turned to see the look of utter bewilderment on Billy's face. "Must not have been a big fight," James said quietly. "First time they pulled that crap at a game, it was a lot more involved than grabbing an _arm._"

Billy's eyebrows shot up. "Are you serious?"

James frowned as he watched him react. "Ye-ah. Not a big deal though. Probably doesn't help that … we … kinda almost dated a while ago. Before I found out she's related to Madame Masque and Emma Frost."

"My mom would have …" Billy shook his head. "My upbringing was very different."

"Hey, it's not something my dad approves of either," James said. "But it's just easier not to make a thing out of it."

Billy shook his head. "Still," he said, then offered James his hand. "Best to ask first."

"Generally, yeah," James agreed, then he took Billy's hand and the two of them left the railing. There were too many people to _talk _properly, and it was clear that Billy didn't have his head on the game. At all.

It was nearly halftime by then anyway, and Scott had gotten up to see if he could find the two of them - though he nearly stopped in his tracks when he saw how _comfortable _they were. James could almost see the gears in Scott's head turning before he finally blinked back to regular speed and tipped his head their way. "How long has this been going on?" he asked - since technically, James had been grounded.

"What time is it?" James asked without missing a beat.

Scott almost smirked, then caught himself and pointed at James. "You're still grounded. Don't be stupid for one more week."

"What exactly did I do to break terms?" James asked.

"This is a preemptive warning," Scott said, then finally allowed himself to smirk. "Since you have a date I need to worry about now."

"Not yet, I don't," James said. "We've just been talking and poorly avoiding the jealousy squad. "

Scott pressed his lips together. "Again?"

James shrugged openly. "Every time."

"I'm sorry, James."

"It's fine, Dad. I don't care. Ask Rachel about it if you want to know the story. Maybe she can tell you why she keeps trying."

Scott raised an eyebrow Rachel's way - and got a quick telepathic rundown that had him frowning and then outright rolling his eyes. "If you pull that kind of nonsense on anyone you ever date - any of you kids - I'll pack you up and send you to Genosha."

"_Dad_."

"I'm just saying."

"You've _got _to be kidding me," James grumbled.

"I know I didn't raise any of you to behave like that. I needed a suitable threat."

"Not much of a threat if I'm there, too," Billy whispered under his breath to James. "Could be fun."

James kept his reaction flat, doing a fair job of not smiling before he muttered out 'loophole' - to Rachel's absolute amusement. Especially since Billy couldn't stop the grin at James's snark.

_You're having way too much fun, little brother, _Rachel projected to James.

_Isn't that what you keep telling me to do? _He asked. _Get out of the lab. Have some fun. Verbatim. _

_Sure is. And I'm loving this look on you, _Rachel said, and James could hear her smile even telepathically.

_What look is that? Perpetually grounded for not doing anything? _

_Having a blast even if you get in trouble? Trying new things? Yeah, _Rachel countered.

_I've been doing that since Stark set me up with my own lab. _James crossed his arms and leaned against the nearest post as the crowd trickled by them. _I don't know what the hell I'm doing here, Rach. Little out of my depth._

_Well, that's half the fun, I'm told, _she replied. _I wouldn't know. So far, I've run away from most of my relationships. _

_Because they were all idiots. _

_Fair point. _

_At least he's telling me the truth, _James said. _Like the fact that the old man has a real problem with me. Already. Even singled me out while warning them about us._

_You _did _stand up to him beautifully, _Rachel said, obviously proud. _Dad was happy to share with me how it went down._

James looked toward Scott for a long moment. _He doesn't actually think I'd do anything even remotely like Izzy, does he? I mean I'm not that … narcissistic. I don't think._

_No, of course not. But he was so annoyed by how _often _that happens to you that it turned into his weird sense of humor. You know how he gets. Might be because I showed him how she treats you. He hasn't seen it fully himself … until now._

_Right. Just have to ask sometimes. _

_That's what you've got me for, _Rachel promised. _Got your back. _

_Right. So. What's new with you? I've been working more than anything else, and I've missed pretty much everything. _

_Not much with me. Just conspiring with Jan, as usual. She's tickled to design us things with X's on them._

_I don't know that I should know about that_.

_We'd show you anyway. Can't leave you out of the loop when the rest of the family's in on it._

_You mean Nate. Nate is in on it. _

_Yes, that. _Rachel smiled. _Seriously, Jan's having a ball. We should at least show you her designs. _

_Rachel … _

_I know, I know. _Rachel let out a sigh he could hear in their connection. It was a common enough argument with them. Rachel and Nate were far more primed and ready to debut as X-men, but James was _still _on the fence. _I'm being cautious too. That's why we're keeping the circle small and waiting for the right moment. We're not going to kill Dad, I swear. _

_I know. But this is another thing now. If I end up dating this guy for any length of time - isn't that kind of problematic for this team you want? I mean, part of why I got grounded was being a bad influence - and pissing off Magneto. And this seems like the kind of thing that would definitely piss off Magneto._

_We'll figure it out when we get there, _Rachel said. _You just keep enjoying yourself, and I'll keep plotting, okay?_

_So business as usual. _

_Pretty much. _

James smiled to himself and turned to face Rachel, who wore an almost proud expression. "You like him," she said quietly. "Don't overthink it."


	35. The Art of Flirting

_**A/N - Practically An Avenger, I'm so tickled that you're enjoying this one. Hopefully this chapter makes the wait worthwhile.**_

* * *

**Chapter 35 - The Art Of Flirting**

* * *

"I was right," Kate sang out as she skipped behind Nate, then slid into the seat next to him in study hall. "Just got the text from Billy. Your brother is at least _curious _about the adorable and _fun _twin."

"Not super surprised," Nate said, doing his best to keep his reaction low and lying through his teeth. "Scientific and all that. Has to check all the possibilities … including the modifier that _the fun twin might be evil._"

"No way!" Kate laughed. "Billy said he was maybe a one - though I upped it to two just for family affiliation. Two. Out of _ten_. Not evil."

_He has the same powerset as his mother,_ Nate projected to her. _Potential fifteen, easy. _

_The scale is only up to ten. _

_You're underestimating Magento's family, _Nate countered, grinning at her before he leaned in and stole a kiss. "You're cute when you're wrong," he said.

"Pretty sure we just established that I'm right," Kate replied, though she kissed him right back.

"Yeah, the thing with my brother just proves me right - power and danger magnet that he is." Nate pulled her closer until she was practically in his lap. "But I really don't want to talk about my brother and whoever he's seeing or not seeing." He kissed her again. "Do _you _really want to talk about someone else right now?" _Because I know I'd rather keep my focus on you instead. _

"That's really not a fair question," Kate replied. And when they got a few glares from the teacher who was supposed to be keeping the peace at study hall, Kate smiled sweetly and then switched to totally psychic - in a full-on makeout with Nate in their heads.

* * *

The boys still had a whole two weeks to kill before they finally could _go_ on their date, and by the time they met up, James was nervous. Not just about the fact that Billy was from a massively powerful family, or the fact that ticking them off could have widespread consequences. It was a lot more simple than that. He just wasn't sure what was supposed to happen with this date. Already, everything about it felt different.

Were their expectations the same? What was a first date like for Billy versus how James' first dates ran? He didn't know how much Billy got away with wearing a friggin' _crown _on Genosha, but he knew what he got away with. So he was a little concerned that a slower approach might be a deal breaker for the little prince.

And he'd spent the past two weeks trying to anticipate how he'd react to Billy if they hit it off in person and how to move forward or stop things if they didn't hit it off. It was a daunting prospect. But there was a bigger draw than there was apprehension. Which was how James found himself driving out to Westchester.

He was supremely glad that Billy was waiting with a few new friends when he got there, though they cleared out fast enough and the two of them slipped outside before anyone on the staff could stick their noses in.

"So, there aren't a lot of places we can go and talk openly," James said after they'd stepped outside. He'd planned to pick BIlly up and head out, but on the way to Westchester, James decided it might be smarter to let Billy decide the _where, _since he'd handled the rest of it. Even if he wasn't familiar with the area, he had his own ways to travel, after all. "So… did you have a place in mind for this picnic, or am I driving somewhere?"

"Right. Hard to talk about ourselves if we need to keep family details secret," Billy said, nodding, but that got James to smile a little more crookedly.

"I keep forgetting that you grew up in a sweet little bubble that nurtured you for who you are," James teased. "It's not _just _the mutant thing we need to be careful about."

Billy frowned - honestly unaware of what James could have meant by that - and when James realized that the little prince of Genosha had no idea what he was talking about, he smiled tightly and decided to just pull the bandage off.

"NYC may be pretty open-minded in some aspects, but this is small town, USA," James said gently. "There's an attitude over same-sex couples. In some areas of the city, too, if I'm honest."

Billy blinked at him a few times. "How bad is _that _here?"

James hedged as he weighed his answer. "I know a guy at S.I. that went on a blind date not long ago. It ended up being a setup to beat the hell out of a gay guy. It's an issue. They put him in the hospital."

"What … is even _wrong _with everyone here?" Billy asked in a clearly outraged and shell-shocked tone.

"I don't even know where to begin," James said. "But it doesn't matter right now. Not really. Not when the answer to my question ends with some alone time so we can see if there's a decent spark. Stay on track, little prince. Unless that's too much to ask … and if that's the case, this is a waste of time."

Billy paused. "If this is your way of saying you're backing out-"

"Nope," James said. "This is my way of saying even _I'm _used to keeping my date's attention. So - where are we going? I've got the food - you pick the place."

Billy rubbed the back of his neck, still looking like he was caught between wanting to have fun on the date and being _frustrated _by how stupid people were on the mainland. Finally, he said, "What about a picnic on the roof? Avengers Tower or here in Westchester; you can pick. I just like to see."

"If it's here, you can bet it'd probably end up being a double date with Mia and your brother. The roof is her spot. She's marked it. Repeatedly. The tower? You got a 50/50 shot of Tony being … Tony. So your call. Mia and Tommy or Tony."

"Well, what about your place?" Billy asked. "Kate said you guys have a place in her dad's building. Can we steal their roof?"

James did well to stop short of frowning as he nodded slowly. He knew the rule was not to let just anyone know where the Summers family lived, but seeing as the brownstone in Bed-Stuy wasn't - and _hadn't - _been their full-time home in a number of years, James nodded. It was a loophole he wasn't afraid of exploiting. "Sure. We can give it a try."

Billy grinned. "I can magically lock the doors, you know."

"You think that would stop Aunt Tasha?" James laughed. "Or Dad for that matter?"

"True," Billy said. "But let's try it anyhow. It's just a first date. I'm not _fast _enough to need to lock everyone out on a _first date_."

"Well … I've been known to be that easy." James laughed. "But let's see how it goes before we're locking people out. I'm probably considered _slow _getting to know people anyhow." He stopped and tipped his head. "How … _exactly _does this work? Do you need the address, or …" He was nearly holding his breath as he asked, if for no reason other than Kate had done the right thing and told Billy about their apartment instead of the house … but what Billy didn't know was that it wasn't the Summers' _home_. It _was _home, once upon a time, and they did use the place now and again. But the _actual _Summers home was off-limits without Scott's say-so. And James knew better than to bring Billy _home_. Not yet. Certainly not for a first date - and definitely not so _close _to Magneto's hissy fit in Westchester.

"That should work," Billy said before he carefully took James' arm, and the next minute after James had told Billy where _exactly _they were headed, they were on the roof of Clint's apartment building - after a _very _specific spell to get there with all of their things. When they arrived, Billy looked around, taking in the sights as James breathed a sigh of relief on not seeing the Brooklyn Bridge from the view at the Summers' _actual _house. "Did I get it right?"

"Looks like," James agreed as he gestured around them. "Behold. Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Keep your wallet close and don't count on the cops showing up. Ever." He turned a little circle, gesturing to the handful of trees behind the building - which was still greener than most of Brooklyn. "Nothing special."

"That's what you think," Billy said, smiling with his hand still on James' arm. "Every skyline is different to me still, remember?"

"True, but I can think of half a dozen better skylines, so … not so special." He smirked and found his favorite spot to lean against the wall that actually overlooked the trees between the back of the building and the back of the buildings on the next street over. "So, how do your first dates usually go?"

"Ah, usually we have dinner and then go see a performance," Billy said.

"So you people watch … _while _you're with a new guy … huh. Constantly on the lookout for the next pretty face."

"Not really," Billy said, blushing lightly. "Some of the mutations on the island are _beautiful_."

"I'll bet. Kinda drives me nuts that most of the physical mutations are locked away," James said. "I'm just lucky mine's something that can be hidden most of the time."

Billy nodded. "Angel probably would have been a leading man in half the stuff our art department puts on."

"Nah, he can't remember his lines," James laughed.

Billy laughed along. "Oh, well, he can light the opening torch or something."

"He was really good at pushing me through some of the business classes Stark had me take - he insisted on it," James said. "Bored me to tears, but Warren has a good and _enthusiastic _grasp on that stuff."

"Huh." Billy shook his head. "I'm not signed up for anything like that. But I _am _taking human-mutant relations. Which is weird, since I didn't have to even deal with humans growing up."

"Right. No puny humans. How's that going? Are you failing?" James asked with a grin. "Real tough for you, I'll bet. Just for how stupid it is."

"No, I'm not _failing_, but there is a learning curve. I guess I didn't expect all the rules of engagement," Billy said in a sigh. "All I grew up knowing was that humanity was _out here_, and that was about it. I think Grandfather would eventually have shown us more, because I'd need to know to run Genosha and negotiate for us, but…" He spread his hands wide. "It's all very new."

"Sounds frustrating," James agreed. "I know we have a stilted view of the logistics even compared to 'normal'. Bigger implications if we break the 'rules'." He sighed heavily at that. "I get it. I'm just … I don't know what to do with it. Take the Izzy thing for example. Dad was sure to make it clear that we have to think six steps ahead for stupid things like that, even when it isn't a matter of someone related to Emma and Whitney Frost. See … I can't just say no, because she won't listen - and if I run with it, the boyfriend comes to fight later, and then it's either I take a beating for no reason or face the questions of 'how do you know how to fight like that' and 'why aren't you bruised or bleeding?'" James ran his hand through his hair. "So … I politely ask her to stop and then usually just … tolerate it if she doesn't listen and keeps pushing. She usually gets bored before the game is over."

Billy pulled a face. "And all I worried about back home was whether people were talking to me for me or for my title."

"For our family, that's just the tip of a very nasty iceberg. I have all kinds of things to concern myself with as far as why people are talking to me. How long did Mia wait before she told you we were using a fake name?" James asked, settling in a little better.

"Not very," Billy admitted. "She didn't want me to accidentally call you the wrong thing and blow your cover."

"Kinda figured," he said.

"She was also pretty adamant about not using our powers. She showed me how the inducers work, too. It's crazy the lengths you have to go to here."

"Yeah, that's a big one for her especially, though I have to use one when I'm going in and out of the tower," James agreed. "Glad mine are passive. Don't have to do anything, really. Except, you know, _not _react to some sensory stuff and keep my temper under control so I don't do something to get myself hurt."

"Tommy's bored out of his mind," Billy admitted. "He's used to doing everything at _his _speed."

"Poor Tommy," James laughed. "Has to let someone else set the pace."

"He's _dying_, I've been reliably informed."

"As long as he doesn't try to push Mia, I'll feel sorry for him."

"Yeah, well…" Billy let out a sigh. "We'll see. He's not patient."

"I noticed."

"Mom and Dad rein him in," Billy promised quickly. "Most of the time."

"Storm can handle him. She can handle just about anyone."

"Yeah, that's what Mom's worried about," Billy said with a quiet laugh.

"She'll just zap him a _little_," James said with a grin. "I guess that makes you the more reasonable one, then?"

"Theoretically," Billy said, a troublemaking smile spreading over his features. "Or just less high-maintenance."

"Okay, not what he says, but sure …"

"Yeah, he _would _say I'm harder to deal with," Billy said, rolling his eyes.

"So … as entertaining as your brother is, I don't really want to hear about him. Tell me about _you_."

Billy flushed. "Sorry. I guess I'm not good at this part either. Most people already know the basics, and I just… build from there."

"I didn't have your floating grandfather to make me memorize your life story. So you're gonna have to tell me your unofficial version from your point of view."

Billy chuckled and then leaned back on his elbows. "I guess… I could start at the beginning? Mom wished me and Tommy into being, so we've always… stood out."

"Not gonna lie: that's kind of cool," James said.

"I think so too," Billy said with a smirk. "And then growing up on the island, Aunt Lorna doted on us, and so did Uncle Alex, of course…"

"She dotes on everyone," James pointed out. "And Alex tries _so _hard to be the _cool _uncle."

"Yeah, they're like that." Billy shrugged. "But then when Grandfather realized Tommy _acted _like Pietro in addition to looking like him, he accused Mom of wishing _that _part too and… I think that's when I realized I was his favorite."

"What's wrong with being like your uncle? Your brother's hilarious."

"Yeah, but Grandfather never got along with Pietro as well as he did Mom and Lorna," Billy admitted.

James gasped dramatically. "That doesn't seem possible."

"Oh, shut up," Billy said, though he was smirking. "The point is: Tommy figured out pretty quick that Grandfather only wanted him around when he was feeling nostalgic, so… I spent a _lot _of time at the palace filling in for both of us."

"Yeah, that's pretty crappy," James agreed. "At least all I get is how much I look like Logan. And occasional vague references now and again."

Billy nodded. "Mom was pretty struck by the resemblance," he admitted. "She used to come to the mainland - she was an Avenger and an X-Man, you know? But after everyone died, she said it was too hard to watch."

"I was too small to remember," James said. "So I only grew up on the stories, and the cautionary tales, but it's been just us and Dad for almost everything." He drifted off for a moment, thinking it over. There _were _times where Natasha had stepped in … or Tony. And he didn't think Billy would appreciate hearing how he'd _been _with Kitty and Bobby until they wanted him to go to Genosha - and he freaked out. But most of the hand-offs that James could remember had centered around when James had been sick or some of the weapons groups had caught up to them and they were forced to leave James with the medical help he needed while they tucked away someplace secure. It had never lasted long, of course. But there was a reason James looked at Tony and Steve more like uncles than his brother and sister did.

"We got stories from Mom, Dad, Alex, Lorna… even some people on the island who used to be X-Men or who were rescued by them and came to the island to feel safe after the attack on the school," Billy said.

"I'll bet there were a few of those," James said. "We lived in the woods for a while. I loved it there. Dad said it used to be Logan's place."

Billy smiled. "I think that would be fun. I like what I've seen so far of the woods near the school."

"The woods by the school are pretty tame." James shook his head. "We can't go back to that cabin, though. Which kind of sucks. I had a wolf pack that was friendly there, but-"

Billy's eyes were wide. "You had a _what_?"

"Timberwolves," James said as if it was a perfectly reasonable answer. "They were friendly. They let me pet them, and they liked to kind of hang around the place." He tipped his head and closed his eyes for a moment, thinking back to those woods that he'd _loved_. "We had deer that would come up to the front door, too."

"Holy… wow."

James raised an eyebrow at that. "You're only saying that because Magneto Island doesn't have deer. Or wolves. And the city just has rats the size of small dogs and pigeons that are completely rabid."

"I think I heard a lion once?" Billy said, then winced. "Yeah, I don't… hey, on the other hand, I've been shark diving! Dad took me."

"That sounds like fun," James said. "Did you pet one?"

"Yeah, no. When the cage is designed by Vision, you can't touch them, and they can't touch you? But it's still pretty cool."

James nodded along for a moment. "I'd want to pet one. If I get that close, I wanna touch it."

Billy chuckled. "I feel like I should be surprised. But I'm not."

"You had to have thought it too," James said. "Even if you wouldn't do it - you thought it."

"Particularly about the hammerheads," Billy admitted.

"Tigersharks. Or Great Whites," James countered with a grin. "I want to know if the white part feels different than the gray."

"Of course you do," Billy laughed.

The two of them chatted for a long while, nibbling on their picnic and sharing stories as they got to know each other better - and got more comfortable. James was partly through the story on how they'd ended up living out of the woods when he paused and tipped his head to the side, watching the door.

"Clint," James said. "He's probably planning to give you a hard time. Sorry, in advance."

"No one knew we were coming here," Billy pointed out.

"No, but this building has better security than pretty much anywhere but Avengers Tower," James said. "Aunt Tasha knew the instant we showed up. Only reason it didn't set off the system to battle stations was because I'm with you." He shrugged one shoulder up. "DNA scanners."

Billy still couldn't hear anyone approaching, but just before the door opened, James told him quietly "If he gets to be too much, just get us out of here. I don't want this to end early because he has boundary issues." Which, of course, had Billy quietly smiling to himself.

Clint stepped through the door and paused, his expression somewhere between troublemaking and aloof - though that was pretty normal when he was ready to get after one of 'his' kids dates. "I thought maybe I was misinformed, but no," Clint said.

James glanced at Billy but didn't say anything, waiting to see which direction Clint was going.

Clint, for his part, was doing his best to look disapproving and angry until he simply couldn't hold back his grin. "You just _had _to find someone Nat couldn't do a full background check on. You're driving her nuts, you know that?"

"Figured she didn't need to do a full background check on an ex-teammate's kid," James countered. "_Two_ ex-teammates, technically."

"You'll be lucky if she doesn't come up and interrogate him," Clint said.

"See … but now I want her to," James said with a crooked smile. "Where's the line she won't cross? I know she doesn't want to tick off the Scarlet Witch. So …"

"Don't kid yourself," Clint said. "She's not afraid of Wanda."

"If you say so," James said airly, turning his head away from both Clint and Billy with a serene look that he couldn't possibly know was straight out of his mother's handbook. But it was enough to get Clint to crack a smile.

"But that's not why I'm here _now_," Clint said as he crossed his arms.

"Here we go," James said under his breath, his chin tipped down to his chest and his fingers entwined in his lap where he sat against the short wall.

Clint smirked crookedly for a moment but pushed forward. All of the kids had been subjected to this at one point or another, and he'd really enjoyed watching little May Parker squirm when he gave her a run down. This was cheap entertainment. "Normally I'd ask if you had a criminal record or what you're expecting out of my kid. Turns out it's hard to be criminally liable for anything when you're considered _royalty_." He smiled a little wider. "And since my lovely wife couldn't do a real run down on you, I went ahead and called your mom. Had a lovely chat. Made it easy to skip the big questions when I already know the answers."

"You could have asked me," Billy said, blushing lightly. "I would have answered."

"Yeah, but I'd rather you answered the stuff no one wants to," Clint said with a wave. "I already know what the plans are for you when you're older and what you do in your spare time. Wanda even told me what your powerset it. Seems she thought we should know what kind of trouble you get into. So …"

The two boys shared a look, but James had nothing he could do to help as Clint continued. "So. What's the big plan tonight? You just playing the 'G' rated 20 questions or are you going right to the adult version."

"Uncle Hawk," James said flatly. "Come on."

"It's a valid question," Clint said, then turned his attention on James. "What made you decide to go out with this guy anyhow?"

"Who's getting interrogated here?" James asked.

"See … the fact that you don't know means I'm doing it right," Clint said, the crooked smile creeping back into place. "Nat'll be proud." He pointed at James. "Answer the question."

James blew out a breath, but by the expression Billy was wearing, this was the kind of question he _needed _to answer. "He's fun," James said. "And we hit it off. We've been texting since they got here, and I like him. Figured I'd give him a shot if he was game."

"Alright," Clint said, nodding. "Who made the first move?"

"That would be me," Billy said, raising his hand. "Hi. Nothing nefarious going on. Promise."

"Do I need to have the consent talk again?" Clint said, going back to serious.

James frowned and looked between Clint and Billy for a moment. "Only if it applies to people asking questions they don't need to ask because this is a little aggressive as far as first date stuff."

"Nah. I have the same chat with all my kids' prospective suitors." He stopped and watched both boys. "Unless you're not _serious_."

"It's a _first date_," James said. "Leave us alone for a while and we might be able to form an opinion."

"Answer like that makes me want to get comfy."

James turned to Billy with a significant look. "Your call. But I'm good to _go_. He's not going to be any better the more he sticks around."

Billy nodded. "Okay. Yeah, just ... " He reached over to take a hold of James' arm and started chanting under his breath. They were there just long enough for Clint to realize what was going on before they disappeared without a trace, leaving Clint on the roof.

When the two of them popped back into existence - it was once again in the woods, but it took James a few moments to reorient himself - only to reach out and pull Billy to a stop before they could walk any further. "We're … a few miles from the school - which I'm fine with if you don't mind walking for a while." He smiled crookedly. "Guess we'll need to find a way to make that one more specific, huh? Westchester is the town, after all."

Billy let out a self conscious sort of laugh, and shrugged. "I did say it wasn't an exact science."

"You did," James agreed as he pointed them the right way. "You also said you had to want something to make it happen too. So maybe this is what you really wanted. Deeper woods ... not to be interrupted."

"Did you want to rush back?" Billy asked, trying to check on how James felt about how the date had gone.

"No," he replied, shaking his head slowly. "I'm fine going through the woods if you are. And nothing will bother you. In case you were nervous."

The two of them walked on in comfortable silence as the sounds of the forest picked up around them. It was dark, after all - and though summer was well past, there were plenty of creatures and birds still in the trees to make up for the lack of crickets and other cheerful insects. But there was no _trail_, so Billy found himself getting a little crash course in traversing the woods off the beaten path by the light of a full moon. He was doing remarkably well, too, until he made a small misstep. The rocks underfoot were slippery, and Billy lost his footing. Before he could hit the soft dirt, however, James caught him.

"I'm not holding up my end of this deal very well," James said as Billy brushed himself off of imaginary debris, trying to regain his composure and hoping that James didn't see the blush he was wearing in the low light. Before Billy could react, James reached over to take his hand. "Stay close this time, huh?"

"Good idea," Billy agreed, smiling to himself.

The two of them headed through the woods, hand in hand and side by side until the path became too narrow, then James simply shifted his grip on Billy's hand and stepped forward to test the rocks on the slippery downhill slope before Billy could. For no other reason than it was easier for James to see. Which was all fine and good until at the bottom of the slope, James lost _his _footing in the slippery clay only for Billy to catch him and the two of them to end up on the ground, though they were both laughing about it.

"Are you okay?" James asked with a grin, half tangled up from the fall and on his side as he faced Billy.

"Yeah, I think so," he replied, shocked at the ridiculousness of it and smiling himself.

"I'll be docked for bad guiding," James laughed before they could even begin to untangle from each other. "Sorry 'bout your luck, little prince."

Billy frowned at that, though the smile didn't slip all the way. "What do you mean by that? I think my luck has been pretty good."

"Well … we started out alright, I think? Halfway in the sky on top of the building, and now? You're in the _dirt_. Kind of a spectacularly rotten turn, don't you think?" James pushed himself halfway upright, but that only got him just a little closer, which made it that much easier for Billy to be a little spontaneous.

Before James could untangle, Billy reached out and rested a hand on the side of James' neck and leaned forward to steal a kiss. And while it wasn't something James had exactly _expected_, to his credit, it didn't take him long to respond. The two of them paused long enough to lock gazes before James leaned in for a more extended kiss. The first quick kiss turned into another longer, more involved one and by the time they stopped a while later, both of them were out of breath, more tangled up, and wearing a fair amount of smeared mud and crushed leaves from their fall down the last few steps of the hill.

"See?" Billy said after a moment. "Nothing wrong with my luck."

James let out a breath of a laugh as he broke into a brilliant smile. "Does that mean you want to do this again? Not - the whole falling into the dirt thing necessarily, but date two?"

"Ah, _yeah_," Billy laughed then started one more kiss before the two of them _finally _untangled from each other. James was on his feet first, and he pulled Billy up with him, then _tried _to brush off some of the forest that stuck to him before once again, he offered Billy his hand and they took their _time _heading back, enjoying the walk more now that the tension was broken.

When the boys finally parted company for the evening, Billy was in a great mood as he headed back into the school, where his brother was waiting for him. "So," Tommy said. "How did hunting the hunter go?"

"You're a horrible brother," Billy said, shaking his head as he checked his texts, grinning to himself.

"But … does that mean it went well, or that you need to consider that guy that was watching you in human-mutant relations, because if I'm being honest - I don't like the guy in class _at all_. At least the young Wolverine is funny."

"Hey, did you get a solid answer from Storm on when you're _allowed _alone with Mia again?" Billy asked, which only had Tommy throwing a pillow at him.

* * *

Kate had been bouncing on the balls of her feet after she'd gotten home from her date. She'd heard from her Dad how the near-interrogation went - and how the boys had _disappeared _to avoid dealing with the rest of Clint's questioning. Which, she thought, was a pretty slick way to handle it. For a little while anyhow.

Her mom was a little irked at how easily Billy got them _gone_ with no clue as to where, even with Clint promising her that Wanda _swore _that Billy was a _good kid_. But considering that no one had heard from them since they disappeared off the rooftop, Kate was waiting as patiently as she was able with her cell phone in her hand expecting the text to come through.

She'd already sent two … okay. Maybe more than two, but the point wasn't _numbers_. It was _content_. And she needed to _know _how it had went. Now! She was excited and hopeful for both Billy and James's' behalf, nervous _for _Nate - even if he thought he was hiding how anxious he was over James' new _sweetheart_. Oh, she really hoped that they hit it off. _They were so cute together_, after all. And Billy really did want to take a shot.

It was getting late - though not yet to the Summers' boys' curfew when she _finally _got a text back from Billy.

_So I just got back_, Billy wrote. The three dots danced and stopped. Danced and stopped again, and as Kate was drafting up a tease, Billy replied. _I kissed him. There was a lot of kissing. Don't worry though. I'm going to be a gentleman and try to keep it to myself. _

_Good. I really don't want to hear details on how my Superior Summers' brother kisses. No thanks. _

_But now I want to tell you … _

Kate giggled to herself and settled in, already asking for how the non-kissing section of their date had gone, not that she had to when Billy was already gushing.


	36. Double Agent

**Chapter 36 - Double Agent**

* * *

There really hadn't been anything _special _about that random Friday afternoon in New York. Not to James, anyhow. He and Tony had been working together on a project for the military - though Tony had been careful to keep James far away from the junior military liaison that followed Rhodey around at every visit. The two of them were working on a new, thinner armor that Tony had insisted would only be produced if it was made for the soldiers - not _just _the officers. The lower level military guys had been dealing with sub-par stuff for _years _and Tony was tired of being asked to upgrade continually only for his upgraded gear to be used exclusively by those not even close enough to the action to make use of it.

Rhodey and his shadow had just left and Tony took a few minutes with James to go over the notes that he'd taken during the demo before he nodded to himself and headed out - already putting in the order for some pizza that they could dig into for a late lunch while they re-worked the specs for production. Which left James with a stack of gear to go through, deciding for himself which parts he wanted to work on and which ones he would pass on to someone else. He was finishing up tossing some of the parts into recycling when the door to his lab opened to admit his sister, Billy, and Tommy - all of whom had been spending a rare day off of school going through the city, sightseeing.

"It's _snowing_," Billy said, before James could even say hello.

"Which almost makes up for the cold," Tommy decided - and a second later, he was on the other side of the lab, dropping onto the couch. "Almost."

"It's not even really sticking to the ground yet," James said, moving a vest to his main work bench, since that was the one part of the armor that was coming along better than the more fidgety helmets. "So it's not even cold enough to complain yet."

"That's backward thinking," Tommy said, making a face, though he paused to look around the room - then darted around the lab to take a closer look - not that James cared much.

"I'm surprised you didn't rush back to Westchester," James said toward Tommy as Billy took off his coat and scarf.

"I will," Tommy said. "But _someone _said I should try to be more social here at the tower. So … I'm being social."

"You don't have to be here if you don't want to," Rachel said, and in the time it took Billy to open his mouth to argue it, Tommy grinned, zipped over to kiss her cheek and rushed out leaving all of them to take a moment to catch up to what had just happened. "I shouldn't have said that."

"No, it's fine. He would have been awful if he hadn't grabbed that loophole to run back. He needs to stretch his legs anyhow." Billy grinned at Rachel. "I almost want him to hit ice and fall on the way back."

Rachel laughed and shook her head. "Your brother did that purposely to ditch me, didn't he?"

Billy shrugged openly. "Maybe …"

Rachel rolled her eyes and was just turning to leave when the door opened in front of her and Tony came in with a pizza box in hand. "Hey. You've got visitors! Put it down and take a break, would you?" he said to James, then smiled at Rachel an instant before turning his focus to Billy, too. "You two stickin' around? Grab a slice and help me get him to stop for a minute."

"I'm almost done," James defended as Tony set the box down with a raised eyebrow. "I am."

"It's not going anywhere, kiddo. You did great dealing with Rhodey's shadow, too. Better than I did."

James let out a breath as Rachel gave him a look, then he turned to wash up. He didn't make it a habit to argue with Tony when he was in a good mood like this - and he was in a pretty good mood after both a training session to teach James how to deal with the military brass and a very progressive inventing session with him, too. It was the best of both worlds, as far as Tony was concerned and his work on James was starting to pay off.

As James washed up, Rachel grabbed some drinks from the mini fridge for all four of them and then slipped over to pull out some paper plates, too. Until she'd started stocking them in James' lab, he and Tony had been in the habit of sharing their lunch right out of the box - which went against just about everything their father had taught them.

James sat down between Billy and Tony, barely glancing up as he cracked open the can of coke Rachel slid him and the group started to dig in silently at first. But Rachel couldn't help that her attention was still drawn by the body armor on the bench.

"So," she said between bites. "What's the big project today? Looks serious."

"Same old," Tony answered - long used to simply answering questions from Summers kids. "Upgraded body armor for the military. New components. Lower cost, higher strength. Just have to make it a little lighter without losing the durability and protection."

"Just one more step to the process," James agreed, which Tony was smiling over and enjoying the easy conversation they had going on.

"You need anything for that?" Tony asked after a beat, though James shook his head before answering.

"Not for this, no," he said, cluing Rachel in at least that the two of them were simply picking up on where they left off their last conversation. There was a hesitation before James smirked. "Could use a 3D printer with better capabilities though. Resolution isn't as good as I'd like it to be on the one I've got now. And it's way too small."

"The printer you've _got_ isn't even on the market yet," Tony pointed out with a dry look, but James didn't back down, shrugging carelessly.

"Doesn't change anything. Still need better resolution."

The two of them continued their discussion - though silent as they stared at each other - all the way up until Tony let out a sigh, got to his feet, and grabbed another slice of pizza. "You gonna tell me what you're making?"

"Nope," James said, shaking his head lightly, and again, the discussion seemed to fall into silence for a long moment only to be broken once again by a non verbal sound from Tony as he watched James.

"How much bigger do you need it to be?" Tony asked finally.

"Three times what my max is now. Four would be better."

Rachel was smirking behind her soda can. She wasn't sure what James was up to, but she could hear Tony loud and clear - and he was trying desperately to figure out what the kid was doing without being pushy. His curiosity was getting the better of him, and Rachel could see watching her brother that he knew it without anyone confirming it for him.

"Will you tell me what you're working on if I can manage a bigger _higher resolution _SLA?"

Again, James shook his head lightly. "No. But I'll show you after the test run."

Tony sighed heavily and dropped one hand on James' shoulder as he thought it through- still doing his best to look as if he was weighing everything out. "Gimmie a couple days. Should be up and running by then."

"No rush," James promised. "I've got plenty to do here for the generals."

"I want to see what you're up to," Tony said. "Especially when I'm guessing a large reason you want it bigger is so you don't have to do any seams?"

"Maybe," James replied, still totally relaxed and at ease, even when Tony smirked to himself and gave James a one-armed squeeze.

"You kids don't do anything I wouldn't do while I'm gone now," Tony said, winking at Rachel just to rile her.

"Told you, I'm not going to your board meetings unless it's necessary," James called out.

"Not this year. Next year? Well ..." Tony said just before he slipped out of the door, leaving the kids to their own devices.

"This isn't _lunch_, is it?" Rachel said once the door was closed. "It's past three."

"We were distracted," James defended.

Rachel smirked at her brother. _Sure you were_, she projected. _You've made his whole week by whatever it was that you pulled off earlier - I could hear him preening before we were even halfway here. _

_He's training me, _James replied, always easier to converse with telepathically when he was busy eating. _He's going to talk to Dad about having me join him on a few trips overseas this year. Teaching me how the company works. Dealing with foreign entities … contracts … _

_Doesn't sound like the usual thing his inventors need to do. _

_It's not,_ James agreed, though he was focused on grabbing a bite and clearing his head - so he missed the expression on Billy's face as he stared at the body armor on the bench. But Rachel didn't miss it.

Rachel quietly watched Billy for a moment longer before gently reaching out to see what the guy was thinking and found herself frowning at his suspicious line of thoughts. It was pretty clear right off the bat that Billy was dealing with conflicting information and having seen not only the fact that James was working on stuff that was above the level of 'student', but that he was making subtle demands with no promise of outcome to Tony for equipment was one thing. But the genuine warmth Tony showed toward James - the fact that he wasn't questioning him further than to ask what he wanted before he was obviously prepared to move mountains - It was the kind of conflicting information that meant Billy had to come to his own conclusions - and the conclusions he was coming to certainly didn't add up to what he thought was an established truth.

But, Billy blinked out of his haze and looked up to catch Rachel watching him, and very suddenly, Billy's projected thoughts dropped off almost entirely - except of course for the quiet gut reaction of 'oh crap' when faced with a telepath. The two of them stared at each other for a second longer before Billy cleared his throat and went for the most obvious subject. "What is this stuff made of anyhow?" he asked James, tipping his head at the body armor on the bench.

"New formulation of resin, mostly," James said between bites before he turned toward the armor. "And a bunch of other stuff, too. That's the prototype _I _liked. Brass didn't agree. Too bad for them."

"Is that what you've got Tony jumping through hoops for?" Rachel asked.

"No," James said, finally engaging in the conversation. "That's a little pet project of mine - _for _him. He doesn't know about it and he's not going to until it's done."

"Not in a sharing mood?" Rachel asked with her head tipped slightly.

"Obviously not," James answered. "Don't worry about it though. It's not another prank. Well … not yet, anyhow." He turned toward Billy this time with a crooked smile. "If you're done with the tour guide routine, we could have an early date. I'm done for the day."

Billy blinked once then broke into a grin. "Sorry, Rachel, I have plans now. I can find my own way back to Westchester."

James smiled at his sister and switched to projecting. _Let Dad know I'll be home a little late, please? Not super late, just … I'll miss dinner, but make curfew. _

_Diving right in, are you? _Rachel asked with an ill-hidden smile.

_I'm pretty sure this is the first nearly-normal thing I've done in … a long time_, James countered. _And I'd like to try a little normal for a change. _

_Have fun, _Rachel told him as all three of them left the lab. _And if you need anything, project to me. I'll be listening. Just in case. _

_Starting to sound like Dad, _James countered before he and Billy headed out into the falling snow leaving Rachel thinking hard about what she'd gleaned from Billy's thoughts.

* * *

"I don't think you understand, Grandfather," Billy was saying quietly into the receiver as he tucked himself into a quiet spot in the empty horse barn at Xavier's. "Or maybe I'm not being very clear - there is no strain between the Avengers and mutants that I've been able to see. Mr. Stark is _very supportive _of Cyclops' family. He's been backing up Rachel and helping her to be an Avenger - and she's amazing, honestly. And nice. They're _all _really nice here."

"Stark has no reason but guilt to take those children into account," Erik replied. "Had his team of so-called heroes done what they claimed to from the beginning, their families would be intact and Cyclops wouldn't be in such a sorry state of limbo. No. If he's not using those children, then he's using their father."

"That doesn't line up," Billy argued with a little more stern tone. "I've watched Stark in James' lab. He gives him whatever he wants without … he doesn't make him do anything that I've seen."

"How does that _not _sound like guilt, William?"

"It's _not_. He's training him for something. I didn't get the details on what though," Billy said, half bragging and half complaining when in fact, their last date just days before had been interrupted when Tony had informed James that they had to go. To Los Angeles. Right then. And they'd been gone for almost three days, yet none of the other Summers family members seemed bothered by that fact.

Sure, James had texted Billy back, but he couldn't give Billy a reasonable time frame on when they could pick back up with what had been pretty regular dates. Once the boys had started exploring dating each other, it had become a frequent thing. Which meant that with James across the country with Tony, Billy had less than usual to do. He was quickly discovering that the mainland was even less fun when he couldn't _do _anything with his favorite distraction. Kate was fun … when she wasn't tied up with _her _sweetheart, but seeing as Kate and Nate went to school together … and they weren't in Westchester … it just wasn't the same. The fact that Tommy was being obnoxious with Mia every spare second of the day was just adding insult to injury. Even America was acting as if he was causing her pain when they hung out and he was being so mopey.

But Billy had still managed to stop just short of telling his grandfather that he was _dating _anyone. Even if he was getting dangerously close to that subject, he knew that Erik would avoid bringing up _that _issue. Particularly since he likely didn't _care _if Billy was dating - though he would care if he knew _who _he was dating. "I'm telling you, honestly, I don't see anything going on that's anywhere close to what you're worried about," Billy swore.

"Then it's only because you haven't been around when it's been happening," Erik said patiently. His tone was even and relaxed, as if this was normal conversation. "Stark is a weapons manufacturer. There is no coincidence that the one child in that group that he's showing an interest in happens to be the offspring of two weaponized mutants. If nothing else, he's keeping the Summers children close so no one else can pick them up and convince them to fight the Avengers."

But that actually hit close enough to the truth that Billy had to take pause. He'd heard more or less the same thing from the Summers kids, and Kate, and her parents.

"What we don't know is what the Avengers are planning to do with them. Or about them. They're too dangerous for the Avengers to _allow them _to roam freely. All three of them." When there was a pause, Erik realized how little Billy was agreeing or arguing by that point. "You cannot allow yourself to sympathize with those humans, William. They would imprison and use you in an instant."

"No, I'm not .. it's not really a sympathy thing, Grandfather. It's more that I know that the Avengers aren't-" He stopped himself from continuing, knowing that it would only start a fight - and he didn't want to fight with his grandfather. Not in person. Not from a distance - not at all if he could help it. Before Erik could lay into him, Billy handled it quickly. "I can't assume what they're up to until I get closer."

"Do you have someone that you've gotten to be _friends _with in their tower?" Erik asked in a slow, even meter.

"Yes," Billy replied, one eye closed.

"And is it someone that could get you into their labs?"

"Ye-es," he said slowly. "I can do that pretty easily, I'm sure. Even without using my abilities." He hoped that would be good enough for his grandfather and that he wouldn't ask _how_.

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. "Then I suggest you spend as much time as you need there finding out what exactly, the Avengers are up to and what Stark is using that boy for. I'll expect to hear all about it when you come home. Oh, and be _careful _around Rachel Summers. Telepaths are notoriously nosy."

"Yes. I will be careful. I should know what the story is by the time the holidays hit. Hopefully."

Billy hung up his phone and stared at the screen for a long while. He knew he had to keep up his communication with his grandfather, but the longer it went on, the more Billy wasn't sure about … all of it. Very little of what Erik had taught them had proven to be true - at least as far as horrible humans went. Yes, Billy had finally seen a few anti-mutant people in action from afar, but they truly were in the minority. Of course, he kept it in the back of his head that _maybe _some of these people were so reasonable because they didn't _know _who was a mutant and who wasn't. That was a concern, after all. So until he saw irrefutable proof one way or another, Billy decided to go back to reading the book that he'd found in the library that Professor Xavier had written.

Billy smiled when he first opened the book containing Xavier's works - in part because he knew it was something that had been dear to _all _mutants, even if he hadn't read it yet. His grandfather and mother had referenced the works many times, but even at that, he hadn't expected it to be so starkly different than what Erik had tried to raise the boys with. Many of the words were familiar, and the basic ideas, but the further Billy got in reading the words that Xavier had written, the more he wondered how close Charles and his grandfather had been. Erik's outlook was very different than Charles' words … but Erik spoke with such affection in his tone when he talked about Charles Xavier … it had Billy wondering if Erik's misinterpretation was born from _heartbreak. _

Which meant Billy was looking at his grandfather in an entirely different light. The more he read, the more inconsistencies he found between what was written and what Erik had told the family and the citizens of Genosha. The more he read, the more he wondered how long Erik and Charles had danced around each other from afar, and the more he felt sorry for both of them having missed out on being able to enjoy each other's company more _openly_. And considering what James had told him about how uptight people were _now_, it had to have been worse for gay men at that time. It certainly explained Erik's total attitude toward intolerance. Everything about Erik had been something for someone to hate. Being Jewish. Being a mutant. Being gay - or at least bi. Any one of those things would have been taboo. To be all three? Erik had created Genosha to be a utopia - but it was a utopia that Charles simply didn't want to run away to.

Billy closed the book as he made the connection. _Now _he realized - or thought he did - what it was that had motivated Erik so strongly. All he needed now was a way to figure out how much of what Erik was doing was revenge and hurt and how much of it was accurate to how the world actually worked.

His cell phone chimed and Billy unlocked it to see who it was that was texting him - only to break into a grin when he saw that it was James - with good news on his return to New York, and already working on plans for something _fun_ even before he got in the air to fly home. And that sounded like a lot more fun than whatever espionage his grandfather wanted him to commit.

* * *

Erik might have backed off enough to let Billy and Tommy go to school in Westchester - thanks in large part to Wanda - but he was also good for his word. He showed up in Washington D.C. just before Thanksgiving for a dramatic hello and to throw his weight around leaving the same old message that mutants were not to be trifled with lest those involved wanted to invoke his wrath.

Of course, the Avengers were called in as soon as he appeared - even before he started to make a scene, which meant Rachel and Kate were sharing looks with Jan the whole way.

"Just get him to sign off on the uniform," Jan said quietly to Kate. "And I'll have them all ready in a snap."

"Good, because this feels like a good bad guy to debut with," Kate said.

"It so does, and considering that the twins said James almost _stabbed him_, you know ... " Jan said with a serious look.

"Oh, come on," Kate laughed. "It was just a snarl."

"Yeah, James doesn't pop his claws unless he means to use them," Rachel said. "There's no _almost_."

"When was the last time he snarled?" Jan asked.

"Um… probably that guy that tried to get me in the back of his truck a few years ago," Rachel said.

"Mmmmhmm. That was a good year for that kind of thing. Were there claws then?"

Rachel hedged then tipped her chin up. "I can neither confirm nor deny on the grounds that Dad would have a heart attack either way," she said with a sniff.

"That's _totally _a yes."

"Hey, he had it coming," Rachel said.

"Further confirmation," Jan sang out quietly.

Kate giggled. "She's not wrong, Rachel."

"Are the sweethearts still sweet?" Jan asked. "I know there was a small break when Tony took James to the west coast. But those boys are _so cute _together. Ooh! How is your dad handling _that_?"

"I think he was kind of surprised James swung that way," Rachel admitted. "We all kind of were. James too, a little, if I'm being honest. But Dad got over it pretty quick once he saw how happy James is with Billy and how relaxed he is when they're together."

"Good. They're adorable," Jan said. "And Billy told me he has something special in mind for James' birthday. He's _such _a sweet guy. And totally smitten."

"Well, you know dad. If it makes us happy, he has a hard time saying no. The only thing we've _ever _fought about was this." Rachel gestured to her uniform.

"Yes, well. The new ones have a little extra pop," Jan said. "When you get James to stop being so _anxious _about it and sign off, I'll show you the _full _team look I have planned. And believe me. You want to see it."

"He just needs to know Dad isn't going to have an aneurism," Rachel said. "That's all."

"Which is a real concern," Jan agreed.

"Yeah, well, you know how he is," Rachel said in a sigh as the team arrived to find Magneto still floating over the city.

"Stand down," Steve called out, announcing their presence - not that Magneto needed it. "No one here wants a fight."

"Is that why you came in a show of force?" Erik asked with one eyebrow raised.

"It's not a show of force, Magneto," Steve insisted. "It's outreach. We came with some of our newest members-"

"To show them how best to push around those you find beneath you? Yes, I think that's already been established by how mutants are treated already."

"Woah, take _two hundred _steps back and pull your head out," Jan said, her wings fluttering behind her as a blush rose up on her cheeks. Before she'd gotten so involved with Scott and his kids, Jan hadn't been sure how to fight someone that accused the Avengers of doing less than their best, but those were _her kids too _as far as she was concerned. She wasn't going to let _anyone _get away with accusing her and her family of turning their backs on _any kids. _"You don't know what you're talking about, mister."

"I know that mutants are only allowed to live in this country and elsewhere if they hide who and what they are," Erik said. "And I will not stand idly by any longer."

"Then you haven't met our newer members," Kate sang out with a crooked smirk. "Prestige, say hi."

Rachel smirked as she took off from the ground, her cloak catching the wind of her motion - and Nate, who had _just _convinced his dad to let him be a junior Avenger, put his arm around Kate's shoulders to pick her up to float too. It was both a flirt… and a way to hide that Kate was just plain human from a guy who clearly had a vendetta against humanity.

"You're the one attacking people based on their genetics, and we're the ones with a mixed team," Nate pointed out.

Erik turned toward him with a crooked sort of smile. "Ah. The football player," he said. "This is your little cheerleader friend, is it not? Tell me, what can you _do_, my dear girl?"

"Outshoot my boyfriend, for starters," Kate said without missing a beat, and Nate barely tipped his head back with a groan as he tried to keep it as professional as possible

"Seriously?" Nate said under his breath, though he didn't turn to look at her.

"He _asked_."

"I'm sure that's _very impressive_ at the high school," Erik said in his most patronizing tone. "But I meant what are _your _abilities? What _superior gift _were you endowed with - or is that _all _you do?"

"Like we're going to give you personal details when you're coming so close to busting secret identities to the news," Rachel said, then projected to Kate to be careful, since Erik, according to Scott, had always looked down on humans. Not that Kate needed the crib notes when she'd already had a far less aggressive conversation like this with Billy.

"Ah, yes. I was wondering what had happened to you, young lady. How closely do you plan to follow in your mother's footsteps?" Erik said in a booming voice that carried to her easily.

Rachel paused and swallowed before she did her best to look confident all the same. "Actually, I'm more like my dad. I plan to step up and lead when I'm older."

"Before or after you step into your _fire_?"

Rachel froze. "I-"

"I thought you were coming to tear us down for the way _we _treat mutants," Steve snapped. "Don't come after my _junior _team members while telling me I'm the one that has a problem. If they believed in your philosophy, they'd have joined you, but they have more _sense _than that, Magneto."

"They only know what they've seen and they are in the minority here. Most of our kind _do _stand with me. Where they are free to be as God intended."

Steve bristled. "Then maybe you need to pander to your own country, because doing this on American soil looks like a threat more than it is a statement. Go back to Genosha. That _is _helpful to mutants; that's why the Avengers haven't stopped anyone from-"

"The Avengers have perpetrated the way that mutants have been treated," Erik said. "I don't need to listen to you, Captain. Not when I speak for a larger, _growing _group. Not when the only time you _help _mutant kind is when it benefits _you_."

"You don't speak for us," Nate said. "Since when is terrorizing the government _speaking up for mutants_? All you're doing is putting a target on us."

"If you'd like a target, I'm sure that can be arranged," Erik said. "As well it should be for anyone - even _mutants _that stand against our interests."

"Hey." Kate was livid as she twirled an arrow - wooden, since they'd known who they were coming after - in her fingers. "You _know_ better. You _know_ the history. You _can't _threaten to put a target-"

"I know that the X-Men allowed the mutants of this country and beyond to fall to the wayside with no one to speak in their defense or to offer them help as they once did. I know that the Avengers turned a blind eye while many of the X-Men were murdered _brutally_ because they simply didn't _care_," Erik said in a booming voice. "And I know that the X-Men that survived turned their back on Charles Xavier's dream for a better world for _all _mankind when they walked away leaving all of mutant kind in the lurch with no hope for anything but a slow and painful genocide."

"_Shut up_," Rachel said, losing her temper as she reached out and tossed something at him - it didn't matter to her what it was, though since she was reacting in anger and not training, it ended up being a car, which Erik dealt with easily enough.

"You claim to take after your father," Erik said in a low undertone. "Yet you have no planning. No preparation. No _thought_. Your actions are purely emotional and I've seen them before, young lady. You are your mother's daughter right down to the bone. So let me impart on you a word of warning. If you stay the course - this same course that your mother once took - you will either meet the same tragic end or doom all of us with you."

Rachel was almost shaking - and Nate reached out to her mind to bolster her while Jan flew closer to Erik, spitting mad. "Listen," she said. "We're trying to give you a chance to walk away. But if you say one more word to those kids-"

"A chance to do what? Hide? Cower behind closed doors hoping and praying that no one comes knocking? I've done that before and I'll never do it again. Not to those that would hold themselves above _my people._"

"You've said your piece," Nate said evenly. "You don't have to spit on the X-Men's legacy while you're at it."

Erik gestured widely. "There _is _no legacy from the X-Men anymore. The only purpose they've served as far as humanity is concerned was to leave a gravemarker for the humans to admire."

"You're wrong," Kate said. "But I don't expect you to see that when you're too busy being a megalomaniac to see the _family _they left behind picking up the pieces. You just see what you want to see."

"I came to make my intentions known and your arrival was only meant to try and shout me down and attack," Erik said. "Typical of the Avengers right down the line." He floated a little higher in the air. "No matter. My message will be heard by those that will act on it. Soon enough, we'll see where mutant kind stands - if they choose to cower and hide - or embrace the dream that Charles failed to see come to fruition."

For a long moment, the Avengers were quiet as Erik stormed off, and then Kate turned to Nate and kissed him hard. "That guy is so full of crap - you know that, right?" She looked up at Rachel. "Both of you know that, right?"

"Yeah," Rachel said in a breath before she finally shook herself out of it. _But you know this just means we need to pull out those uniforms, right?_

_Yeah, no way are we letting _him _have the final say on what the X-Men stand for. _

_Let's talk to James, _Kate said. _But even if he's not fully on board… _

_Yeah. It's time, _Nate agreed. _If Magneto's trying to speak for mutants, the world needs the X-Men. _


	37. Magic Tricks

**Chapter 37 - Magic Tricks**

* * *

James and Billy had, of course, seen the broadcast from James' lab at the top of Stark tower. "Oh boy," James said dryly. "Your Grampa's making headlines again."

"Yeah, he does that," Billy said, leaning back on James's chest on the couch that James sometimes crashed on when he had a long project.

"That makes him the world's worst helicopter parent, you know that right?"

"Are you sure? You're the one who's constantly worried about your dad…"

"Total reverse of whatever this is," James said, giving him a little squeeze. "Besides, mine's got anxiety from this mess, not … world domination."

"Fair," Billy said, leaning back enough to kiss James' cheek. "You've got your 'I'm going to do something about this' look. Usually, that means a date or some adventure, but this time…"

"It can mean that too. We were going to do that anyhow this weekend, but … In a little bit, my siblings _plus Kate_ are going to come through that door all worked up and frothing to tell me I need to hurry up and pull my head out - or something to that effect." James let out a breath and leaned his head on Billy's. "As much as I get it, and have to admit … it's _time_, I still don't know if I want to show up all … me."

"Nothing wrong with being you," Billy pointed out.

"Except, you know … _there is_. Everyone has the same reaction to me that your grandfather or your mom had - to a lesser degree, but still," James said. It was the first time he'd admitted that he actually did _care _about what people around him thought. Even Magneto to some degree. And Billy honestly hadn't expected it.

"Well, Tommy gets that sometimes from people who knew my Uncle Pietro. He died from that same stupid mess, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. It's different though. You both have nothing but good stuff to say about Pietro. My mom hardly exists on paper and I don't even know what to _think _about Logan, okay?"

Billy frowned and turned so that he was looking at James better. "Wasn't he an X-Man _and _an Avenger?"

"Yeah, but he was also a killer and into black ops _and _mercenary work. He was a living, breathing _weapon_, Billy. Both of them were. So what does that really mean when everyone tells me how much I remind them of him? Is that their way of saying that's where I'm headed, too?"

"Absolutely not." Billy watched him for a long time before he took a deep breath, held it, and took both of James' hands in his. "So," he said slowly, "you know how my powers let me sort of… bend reality?"

"Yeah," James said slowly, frowning as he watched him. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Well, what if we peeked at your past?" Billy asked, holding James' gaze for a long moment as James really processed what Billy was saying.

"Wait. You've been thinking about this for a while," James said finally. "Haven't you?"

Billy flushed. "Well, yeah. I kinda wanted to do something, you know, spectacular to tell you… you know. How much I -" Billy swallowed hard and blushed all the way to the tips of his ears. "- _you know_."

James smirked and shook his head. "No. No idea. What are you talking about?"

"Oh, shut up," Billy said, smiling brightly as the blush receded. "My point is that I think I can do it without time travel."

"That's a bonus," James said, arching one eyebrow higher, though he wasn't sure what exactly Billy was proposing yet.

"So, I was listening to Betsy talk about our how our minds hold all sorts of details that we can't readily recall, and I _think _all I have to do is work up a spell to look at the memories you don't even know you have," Billy said. "I was going to wait and do it for your birthday because you _are _crazy hard to shop for, so ... I had to come up with something kind of special."

James watched Billy in quiet admiration until it was clear Billy was growing uncomfortable under his studious gaze with no comment to clue him as to what James was thinking. "You're _really _sweet, you know that?"

Billy flushed again. "Yeah, well, so're you."

James leaned in to steal a kiss that went on for a little longer than he'd initially intended, resting his forehead against Billy's when the kiss met its natural end. "You know I trust you, right?"

"Kiss like that and I might not think straight enough to do it," Billy said, grinning crookedly before James went for another kiss just for the fun of it and to get a laugh out of Billy - which it did.

"Alright Romeo," James said when the kiss broke. "If you think you've got a way to help me, you know I'll be eternally grateful. And if not, we'll just have to slip out and grab a bite alone then find a quiet spot to pick up with this again. You know. If you can't think straight."

Billy grinned crookedly. "Okay, stay still," he said before he rested his hands so that the tips of his fingers were at James' temples. Billy recomposed himself and started to chant quietly, his eyes glowing brightly - and the next thing James knew, he was watching his memories from when he was barely old enough to walk, only he was seeing it from the perspective of an outsider.

There was a lot more for James to see than he'd thought would be there - and though there were a ton of memories that were buried deeply in his subconscious, not a one of them was of what his parents were like on the job. Not one. He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but no one had told him about them like _this. _He wasn't prepared to see the level of _affection _that was clearly so commonplace between his parents and himself - or even just to watch _them_ interacting with each other and so obviously deeply in love. When he heard them laughing while the tiny version of himself was wrapped up between them, he held his breath and just soaked it up for as long as the memory and the peeks lasted, burning every moment into his mind as he tried to hold on to them tighter. The feeling welling up in his chest nearly choked him as longing came back like a tidal wave at what he'd missed out on by losing them.

Scott had been right. The files and folders - dossiers - they didn't hold a candle at _all _to the people they were, and though Scott had tried to tell him, his retelling had fallen short of what James had just seen himself. When the spell had run its course, James was openly shocked and clearly emotional.

Billy didn't move for a long moment as he watched James carefully. He was concerned that something had gone wrong in tampering with his memories, but as soon as he managed to _accidentally _draw James' attention, James leaned forward to curl into Billy and just - hold on with a whispered out 'thank you' that was barely loud enough for Billy to hear.

"Oh. Okay." Billy curled protectively around James, still half afraid that he'd done something to _hurt _him. "I - I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to-"

"No," James said softly. "I wasn't expecting … _any of that_. They were _amazing. _There was _so _much love. I didn't- _I didn't know._"

"So…"

"So I think you would have liked them," James said.

Billy smiled at that and kissed the side of James' head while he was still holding on and trying to put it into perspective. "Then I'm glad you got to see them," he said. When James had started to get a handle on his emotions, Billy started a kiss that would likely have progressed into something else had the other kids not shown up right then.

"Oh. We can come back," Kate said, thumbing over her shoulder. "Or we can get you to sign off on the uniform and then come back?"

The two boys sat back from each other and James covered his face with one hand for a long moment as he got himself reined in again, though Nate was watching him with a concerned expression.

And while outwardly, he looked like a mess, it was obvious to James that there was really only one path ahead of him. "Let me see it," James finally said in a sigh with one hand held out.

Kate grinned crookedly and rushed over to show him what she and Jan had drawn up. It was a more updated version of Logan's old uniform, but tailored to James' taller build with an updated cowl that didn't have points that were as tall or obvious as Logan's had been.

While James studied it and Kate jiggled her foot waiting for his reaction to it, Nate and Rachel shared a concerned look and held a very private conversation. Rachel had been watching Billy for a while now, and seeing her little brother so emotional had her on the defensive. Clearly, Nate needed to know everything Rachel did - and all she suspected as well. Their brother had never been overly shy about showing his emotions, but this was beyond normal for him, and they didn't like it.

Kate, however, seemed to be doing her best to ignore the clear evidence that James had been crying. "Now, I know it kind of looks like it's just the same thing, but we've got accents here and here," Kate said. "And the yellow is _way _less garish…"

"You know, I actually _like _the brighter yellow, but … no yellow. Not yet. I'm not ready for it," James said, then cleared his throat, recovering quicker now that he had something to focus on. "As much as I love this look, I'm going to have a big enough target on my back when I step out in something with stripes anyhow. And yellow was _his_." James' voice broke on the last word, though it wasn't clear to anyone if it was the usual upset concerning Logan or something else until James got his emotions under control and finished what he was thinking while holding Billy's gaze. "I need to earn that."

But Kate pressed on, striking while the iron was hot. "Okay, well, we can change the colors and drop the stripes no problem," Kate said.

"_Keep the stripes_. I want them. Just make it red and black," James said, then pointed to the head. "And use a similar cut to the original cowl. I don't want my whole face covered like this design. As stupid as it sounds, I don't want any idiots thinking I _am _Logan and there is some difference at my chin and jawline."

"Okay, so… kind of a mix between Wolverine and Cyclops' uniforms… with some James flair in there… I like it," Kate said, smiling and already making notes on the design as James continued to look it over with her.

"What do you think?" James asked Billy, taking the drawing from Kate so Billy could see it better, though that had Nate and Rachel sharing a _look_.

"I think you'll look great," Billy said with a growing smile as he took the sketch. "Red is my favorite color, so… I'm in favor."

"I just don't want to take yellow and screw it up," James said.

"You _wouldn't_," Billy promised, though that was one step too far for the other two Summers kids.

"This is way more input than you've given since we _started_," Rachel said, obviously concerned with how upset James still looked, and wondering what had happened before they'd come in. After all, it had been years that the Summers kids had tried to get their brother on board. This felt too easy after all the fight they'd gotten from him. "What happened here?"

"Do you know _why_ I've avoided this?" James asked turning her way and flat ignoring the fact that his lashes and cheeks were wet still.

"Because you don't want to kill Dad?"

"No. Well - yes. But it's because the second it makes mainstream anything that I'm alive and anything like my parents, all hell is going to break loose," James said. "Think about the cabin when we were kids - when it got broken into by special ops or all the times we had to split up when we were little - all the bouncing around I did with Tony and Natasha and Kitty - the month long stretches you spent with Alex or Storm. All of it was to hide from those people that want to use mutants as weapons. Those organizations aren't gone. I read the reports from back then and I go over them now as soon as Natasha does. They wanted us. Not Dad. _Us_. I don't know what they'd do to you and Nate, but I _do _know what they'd do to me. I've known that since before I got my abilities, and since I started to heal it's been like I've been waiting for them to find me and kill me or worse ... and I'm very sure I don't want metal replacing my bones and someone controlling me. And they would."

"But someone has to stop them," Rachel said, glad to hear what James had been holding on to for so long, but also unsure of where that was taking him. "Or they'll go after other kids."

"Why do you think I'm going along with it now?" James said. "It's a risk I have to take while certain people try to start a fresh war. If I don't … I might as well just hand myself over to one of the weapons programs, because they won't stop looking for me _or _you."

"Well, I'm glad you're on board," Nate said, shoving James in the shoulder as he leaned over the couch and kissed Kate's cheek. "Wouldn't feel the same without all three of us."

"Just start taking bets on how long before they start calling me by Logan's codename," James said dryly.

"Well, what do you want to use?" Kate asked, genuinely curious.

"I don't know," James said. "But I know what will happen and how it'll end up anyhow, and knowing what I do now about Logan… I don't want to fall short of what he was. I know I don't measure up to him."

"You won't know that until you see what you can do," Rachel said. "I know I'm _trying _to live up to my mom. No reason you can't live up to him."

"We're not going to let them get to you," Nate said, clearly upset by what James had said. Yes, Scott had warned them for years, but it had sort of meshed together for Nate. Hearing how James had processed it explained _so much _on how reluctant his big brother had been and for the first time in his conscious memory, _really_, Nate could feel the weight of the threat James had been concerned with.

"I'm not afraid of that so much anymore," James said. "Eventually they'll try anyhow. Let them come."

"Yeah, we'll take 'em down," Kate agreed with a crooked grin.

"But - if we're going to do this," James said as he reached over and took Billys' hand. "Billy and Tommy said they wanted in too." He turned to Billy. "And I sincerely hope you won't hold it against me if I end up stabbing Grampneto."

"How about the rule is you don't stab him unless there's no other way to deal with him," Billy said. "He's actually not terrible when he's on Genosha."

"If you knew how much it hurt to use the stupid claws, you'd know that part goes without saying," James told him, then squeezed his hand. "I don't want to hurt _anyone_. And I don't want to upset your family. Not really. Tick _him _off, sure. But I don't want to hurt him and I promise I won't stab him or anyone else unless they try to take out one of us first. Anything short of that and the claws won't even come out."

"Then I think we're on the same page," Billy said, before he yanked the sketchbook back from Kate and turned to a fresh page. "So I had some ideas for _me_, if you're taking notes…and part of it will involve _keeping _my royal cape."

* * *

On Genosha, the shockwaves from Magneto's foray to the States was being felt by much of the population. Years of isolation and a major separation from even their closest neighbors left them feeling like a giant target any time Magneto stepped away from the island and started his speeches and sabre shaking.

It had been a while since he'd bothered to go to the States, but considering that both of his grandsons were attending school there, it was really just a matter of time before he'd turned his attention that way. And with his attention focused on the States, it was only a matter of time before that came back to bite the citizens of Genosha. They all knew it. They all were afraid of it. Except, of course, the royal family and their guards.

But for those outside of the palace, it honestly wasn't rosy. Supplies were in high demand for anything imaginable. Yes, the population was fed and safe - and homelessness was non existent, but that didn't mean they were happy. They had enough to survive, and they were away from humans mistreating them, but aside from being able to use their powers and wander the streets freely, but they also couldn't _leave _Genosha. That was something reserved for royalty. Not even former X-Men were allowed that liberty.

Which was in large part why Bobby Drake often found himself in trouble. He kept looking for ways to get away from Genosha - even if it was only for a moment or two - but that simply wasn't possible. And every time he was caught trying to leave - which was often - he'd end up spending time in Genosha's prisons.

He'd lost muscle tone over the years from spending so much time locked up - though he was getting to be impressive with his powers considering he spent every available moment practicing when he was out of lock up - away from the dampeners that kept the prisoners where they were supposed to be. It was just luck that Kitty had managed to keep _out _of the prisons with all the tech she'd been hoarding and developing just so they could find out what was happening in the world outside of the island nation.

So when they saw for sure that Magneto was stirring up the Avengers … and saw that some of the newer anonymous young members were obviously Scott's kids …

"Would you look at that," Bobby said, eyebrows high on his head. "That's _got _to be Rachel."

"Oh yeah," Kitty agreed, nodding her head as the camera zoomed in on the young Avengers on screen. "She's been on the team for a while. Nate is the new face now."

"He shouldn't be old enough for that," Bobby said, though he was smiling at the screen. He'd been in the jail for over six months. He hadn't seen Nate's debut with the Avengers, but he was incredibly proud. Though after watching for a moment, his smile began to slip. "We should have been there to help them."

"They have the Avengers to teach them. They'll be fine," Kitty said as she sat down next to him.

"Yeah. Against like … Hydra or AIM. Not _Magneto_." Bobby shook his head. "What's he so tweaked about anyhow?"

"The princes are going to Xavier's," Kitty said. "And Erik doesn't like the way the rest of the world works."

"So something he'd probably let slide if his precious little crown princes weren't out in the middle of it," Bobby said with a sigh. "Great."

"Well, at least they're not X-Men, right?" Kitty said, though her tone was entirely down as they continued to watch the broadcast. "The professor never would have allowed it to get this bad."

"No, he wouldn't have," Bobby agreed as silence fell between them. His sense of humor had been beaten down by a vicious cycle of imprisonment and trying to stomach the 'all is well' propaganda that the citizens of Genosha were used to. "I miss them."

Kitty nodded quietly. "Yeah. Me too," she said under her breath as the broadcast continued softly until Bobby got up and flipped the switch to turn it off.

"Come on. I just got out of jail again. We should take one night to celebrate before I figure out how to get us off this island."

Kitty smiled to herself. "Right. Might want to wait until Erik is going to be off the island."

"Which would be great if we knew when he'd be gone."

"Um … holidays are coming. That should be enough time to plan. The Guthries can keep an eye out for when he leaves, and I know that he's already planning to be the one to go get the boys," Kitty said. "Alex told me."

Bobby nodded slowly. "Then we have a little time."

* * *

"Has Jan said anything about the um … _project _she was working on?" Billy asked as he and James walked out of the subway close to where the Summers _actual _home in Brooklyn - though James still wasn't taking him to the house - but Billy had wanted to see some of the sights that Lorna had told him about. All of those sights of course, were much closer to the Summers house than they were to the Barton's apartment building.

"She's working on it," James promised. "But she's got to do the work when no one will bother her and get nosy." He gestured to the coffee shop two blocks down from the house to direct Billy on where they were headed. He was entirely sure that Lorna had tried to push them toward the right neighborhood to bust James out, but he hadn't been ungrounded often enough to consider getting the clearance from his dad to bring Billy by. Yet. He wanted to, of course, but there was an order of getting things done and pushing Scott before the mood was right was a sure fire way to sink himself.

"Yeah, but maybe I'm looking forward to seeing how they look," Billy laughed with a crooked smile. "Especially since it's still too cold for swimwear."

"You're relentless," James laughed before they got into line to order. They were fairly quiet as they made their way through the line since this was one of the more conservative neighborhoods in Brooklyn, comparatively. So at least until they got down to the park by the river, they were going to play it fairly cool.

Or that was the plan. Until they stepped out of the cafe, smiling and laughing at a quiet private joke only to stop dead when Rabbi Cohen called out to James. "Are you ready to let me set you up with a nice girl, young Mr. Meuller?"

James spun on the spot, his smile firmly in place as the Rabbi got close enough to clap a hand on his shoulder. "Hi, Rabbi Cohen," James said, utterly out of his depth on how to get him to stop his usual teasing. But he knew that Toby Cohen would just get worse about it if he didn't say something. So, he decided that he'd try to buy a little time if he could. "Have you talked to Dad at all lately?"

"A little," the Rabbi said, still grinning, though he turned to Billy for a moment, just as approachable and friendly as ever. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend? I don't think I've gotten to meet any of the kids you hang out with yet."

Billy was plainly amused and couldn't stop himself from joining in on the teasing, curious on which way he would get to pick on him. "Yeah, introduce me, James," Billy said with a grin.

James gave Billy a look, but turned back to Rabbi Cohen looking perfectly relaxed. "Rabbi, this is my boyfriend, Billy," James said. "He wanted to see the bridge from the park."

Rabbi Cohen blinked a few times as he looked between the boys, who were both smiling politely as they reached out to hold hands. "Well. At least tell me he's _Jewish_."

"I am," Billy said with a grin as he smiled wider at Rabbi Cohen and shifted his coffee so he could shake his hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

Rabbi Cohen grinned at that and burst out laughing. "Well good! One of you Mueller kids listened to me at least! I'm going to expect a better meeting with the two of you after Hanukkah!"

"Sure thing, Rabbi," James called out, though Cohen was still clearly entertained and Billy was _beaming _as the two of them continued to the bridge. "_Chag urim sameach._"

"Good! Keep teaching him, Billy," Rabbi Cohen shouted as Billy broke into a laugh and put his arm around James' back.

"I like him," Billy laughed.

"Of course you do," James said with a chuckle.

Their discussion fell short when the Brooklyn Bridge came into view - and Billy let out a delighted sound on getting a fresh view of the city. It was exactly what he'd wanted to do before the school break and he was riding a high from the little encounter with the rabbi. It was moments like this that made it indescribably hard to keep telling his grandfather _anything _about the Summers family - and he hoped that Erik hadn't noticed how little he was saying about them in particular, though he doubted that Erik would let it slide once they were in person.

But that wasn't supposed to be the case until the following day - and he had a date with his sweetheart who had just introduced him to his rabbi. Things were looking up as far as Billy was concerned.


	38. Ready Or Not

**Note from robbie: Practically an Avenger, right back at you. Your reviews never fail to make me grin, and seeing as I just had a baby mid-pandemic and he's stuck in the NICU apart from me, grinning is a commodity. Really, really appreciate it. -robbiepoo2341**

**From CC: Agreed. You never fail to get a smile and it's actually pushing me to want to polish this one up FOR YOU. Yes, I have others I could be posting too, but ... encouragement ... oof. Much love, hope everyone manages to stay safe and well - virtual wave from the Mitten State. Pray for us.**

* * *

**Chapter 38 - Ready or Not …**

* * *

Erik had been patient with matters concerning his grandsons, and he'd tried to give the world a chance to come to see sense, but it had been more trying than he cared to admit. Especially with both of his grandsons out of his easy reach fending for themselves in a world dominated by humans. Because of that alone, he was more than happy to insist on being the one to retrieve the two of them for the holidays. There was no reason, after all, for the boys to be stuck at the school with orphans and those who had been sent away from their families. No reason for them to be counted with the otherwise unloved teenagers that had no ties to anyone but the staff at Xaviers.

And he could use the time that they would take returning to Genosha to talk away from outside influences and anyone that might be listening in.

What he wasn't expecting to see when he appeared at Xavier's School for the Gifted, however, was Thomas barely acknowledging his presence as he and Ororo's demonic looking daughter had a less than polite kiss goodbye. Or more accurately, a series of drawn out, near makeout session worthy kisses. He controlled the smirk, only because it wasn't _dignified _to do such things in public, though he had to admit that he was pleased to see Thomas making the most out of his time in New York.

As the three of them headed off to the airport where Erik's private jet waited, he couldn't help but notice that William was fidgeting with his collar and somewhat avoiding his gaze. He looked toward Thomas and raised an eyebrow in a silent question, which of course was answered almost immediately.

"He's just trying to be secretive about his new _boyfriend_," Tommy said with a wave and a broad grin even as Billy swore at him. "Nice guy. Definitely not looking to raise his social status like the last one."

"_Tommy_," Billy said from between his teeth. "Shut. Up."

"He's not distracting you too much, is he?" Erik said to Billy, trying to ignore Tommy's amusement for the moment. He knew better than to push on such a delicate matter if he wanted the chance to look into this young man, after all.

"No," Billy said, blushing bright red high on his cheeks. "He's got his own commitments away from the school. He doesn't take much of my time at all."

"I don't know, the beard burn says otherwise," Tommy cackled, earning himself a death glare from Billy. "Oh, relax. You haven't even been seeing him for that long. No reason to be all …" Tommy held his brother's gaze and grinned wider. "... _growly_."

"Your mother didn't mention that you were seeing someone," Erik said, brushing by Tommy's delighted laughter at the look on Billy's face. If he was that embarrassed and Tommy that entertained, then he definitely wanted to know who it was taking up Wiliam's time. And that wouldn't be easy information to learn if the boy was being defensive. "Is he a mutant?"

"Yes. He is. But we've only been able to go out on a few dates," Billy answered, trying not to look at Erik as he lied through his teeth. "Schedules … he's in the city … you know … it's not too serious."

"Yes, I'm sure your powers make _scheduling _difficult," Erik said as he smiled to himself and nodded - and Tommy looked like Christmas had come early. Still, Erik was determined to find out more, he'd let it go for now, just to let the boy's defenses drop. Patience was the key here - particularly after the last few young men that had come after Billy. If he was honestly interested, Erik knew that sooner or later, Billy would slip up and say the boy's name. He simply had to pay attention.

But for now, while they were alone, Erik planned to find out the finer details of the school - the staff - and all that he could about the Avengers. It would be harder to pick their brains when they were back on Genosha with Wanda hovering. So Erik settled in and simply started asking questions that he hoped Billy would jump to answer - if nothing else, than to avoid the uncomfortable questions about this new young man. He'd use that as leverage to get answers until he _couldn't_. That was the best option for pressure at the time, after all. No reason to overlook it.

* * *

Billy had been positively relieved to leave Genosha after a long holiday of barely avoiding his grandfather's awkward questions and gentle inquiries about who his boyfriend was. He knew that was going to be bad when it finally came out, but he still wanted to avoid letting it come out as long as possible.

They'd barely been back to Westchester for an hour before he got a text from Kate all in emojis that made it very clear that he wanted to be at Jan's studio. _Now_. So, with little more encouragement than that, he looked over to see his brother and Mia saying 'hello' then simply started to focus on teleporting himself to the studio.

When he got there though, he had to do a little double take - not only at Kate, Nate, and Rachel _in uniform_ \- but at the fact that Jan was putting the finishing touches on James' red on black striped uniform. He realized what was happening just in time to hear James quietly ask Jan a question about the fitment. "Does it really need to be this tight?" James asked, to which Kate, Billy, and Jan all answered at once with their own versions of 'yes' that had Nate and Rachel _highly _amused.

"It's part of the gig," Jan said, grinning to herself. "You have nothing to be self conscious about either. You're built _so much _like your dad was, after all."

Rachel cringed, expecting the usual bristle from her little brother, but was pleasantly surprised when James simply looked up at the mirror and nodded to himself. "Guess so," he said before he let out a shaky breath.

"You might need a haircut," Jan suggested as she reached up and took over on pulling the cowl down to adjust it, too. "Or not." She stepped back and the grin started to grow as she nodded to herself. "Oh yeah. There's a look I haven't seen in way too long."

James turned his head toward his siblings, then followed, turning the rest of his body to face them. "How ridiculous is it? Honestly."

"Not even a little bit," Rachel said, grinning. "And it's about time. We've waited forever - and it's _perfect._" She came forward and took a hold of his arm to pull him over then wrap him up in a tight hug. "We're going to be _amazing, _little brother."

Rachel had an updated version of the uniform she wore for the Avengers, as did Nate and Kate - though for the X-Men uniforms, she'd taken a slightly more edgy approach by making all of the detail lines pop with _glowing _color. Rachel's accents were green, Nate's were blue, and Kate's were purple, of course, but James' was red and it gave the whole look an almost dangerous angle with the group of them barely glowing at the colored lines of their uniforms.

"Okay, you next," Jan said, snapping her fingers at Billy. "I can't get my team picture until you're all dressed and ready to go."

"All of us?"

"Oh, totally," Jan confirmed, nodding her head as she led him over to get changed. "Tell your brother he's _slow _in getting here. Make sure Mia comes too. I want to see all of you in person, ready to go. It took me forever to find the right shade of magenta for Mia's accents."

"You got it," Billy laughed as he texted Tommy and pulled his shirt off even before he saw how well Jan had kept to the sketches they'd come up with. "This is amazing."

* * *

There were very few people that had Scott's cell phone number, so when a call came in from a number he didn't know, he honestly didn't know what to make of it. Especially when his cautious 'hello' was met by an enthusiastic Kitty on the other side.

"You didn't tell me you were getting the team back together!"

"Kitty?" Scott shook his head. "What are you talking about? How did you even get this number?"

"Come on, Scott, I was your tech girl for how long?" Kitty said. "I can get your number. But that's not the important part - the important part is the team! Together! How long have you been planning this?"

"I _haven't_," Scott said, though he was already pulling up the news. "I haven't touched a uniform since Graydon Creed. You know that."

"Well … then who are these guys? Do you know them?"

Scott frowned as he found the news footage showing a group of kids wearing x's on their uniforms as they rescued civilians from a building Magneto had trashed. Considering the powersets at play, the fact that they had a girl with swords that he _knew _had to be Kate delineating her skillsets on the different teams… and the fact that he recognized Tommy's voice when the reporter asked what they were doing, Scott breathed out a curse as he turned up the volume.

_We're the X-Men! Magneto wants to speak for mutants, he's going to have to step back. Some of us don't like being labeled terrorists like he is, mkay? _

Scott massaged a spot on his forehead over his nose. "Those… those would be my kids. Apparently."

"You didn't know?" Kitty asked a lot quieter.

"Kitty, do you think I'd let - Hell, James is wearing _stripes!" _

"Yeah, he looks great," she said, the little smile plain to hear. "But that's … I mean, as amazing as that is, that's really not why I called."

"Oh God, now what?"

"We've got big trouble with Magneto," Kitty said. "He's finally snapped, and I don't know what caused it, but he's going into the dangerous … floaty zone."

Scott let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I know what it was," he admitted. "He came to the school."

"What's wrong with the school?" Kitty asked. "I thought Storm was running it. She's great with the kids."

"She is," Scott agreed. "And the kids there love her. But she's … we've been showing the kids how to control their powers so they can blend in. Keep their heads down. Avoid another _disaster_. And Magneto didn't take well to it."

"Oh, man," Kitty said in a flat tone.

"I know. I know we aren't living up to everything we stood for, but Kitty, it's kept them _alive_. No one has destroyed the school, no one is calling for extermination…"

"I know, I know, I just … I didn't realize … oh, crap," she almost whispered.

"Yeah," Scott said. "I almost can't blame him. I mean, my own kids are rebelling into _X-Men_. How far off the path have we gotten?"

"Okay, but Scott - he's been looking for a reason, if I'm being totally honest," Kitty said.

"I thought things were alright on Genosha. Alex hasn't had any complaints."

"Right. Because he's married to one of the _princesses_. He's the next best thing to a royal himself and he doesn't _see _what it's like outside of his charmed life in the palace. That's part of why Wanda wanted to get the boys out of there. They were getting spoiled _rotten_."

"The boys are alright," Scott defended. "Billy's dating James, even."

"Wait - _what? _Okay, I didn't see _that _coming," Kitty said under her breath.

"Tell me about it. But they work."

"Yeah, that …. Probably won't sit will with Erik either, to be honest," Kitty said. "But I was calling because it's going south here. And we need to do something to stop him before he kicks the wrong hornet nest."

Scott sighed as he sat down. "How bad is it, Kitty? I can pull some strings for an evacuation, but we'd have to fight him on it."

"That's just it, I don't know if you can get everyone out," she said.

"Why not?"

"Well, outside of the obvious _millions _of people here, the fact remains that Erik would lose his _mind _if Genosha emptied. No one outside of his family is _allowed _to leave."

Scott frowned harder the more he heard. "You wouldn't be calling if you didn't already have an idea."

"We have to take him down," Kitty said. "But he doesn't _trust _anyone near him. He's completely paranoid. We need to figure out how to get someone close."

Scott held his breath for a long moment. Ten years ago, he wouldn't have hesitated, but now… he waited until he'd gone over several other options in his head and found himself back on that same idea. "I could do it," he said. "It would take time, but… I could do it."

"Are you sure?"

"He's not going to consider me much of a threat, Kitty," Scott pointed out. "I haven't had my powers for years. I stay away from the school _and _the Avengers unless I'm with the kids. I'm as close to a neutral party as you can get from an outside perspective. And he's already chewed me up and down about the school. He had some good points; I wouldn't be lying if I said I agreed with some of what he said."

Kitty was quiet for a long while. "We need to work something out," she said slowly. "Make a plan …"

"Kitty, he's going to end up fighting my kids if they keep wearing those uniforms."

"So try to get them to stop that," she said.

"What do you think I've been doing for ten years?"

"Right. Something must have gotten to them, though."

"I don't know," Scott said. "I know Rachel and I fought when she wanted to join the Avengers, and Nate wore me down until _he _could join, too. They've been wanting to make a difference for a while now."

"And James just … what? Came out of the woodwork?" Kitty asked with a suspicious tone.

"Came out of a couple closets at once, apparently," Scott said dryly.

"Very funny," she said. "I just … you know Billy's powerset, right? Are you sure this is on the level?"

"I've seen the two of them together from the very beginning," Scott said in a tone that made it clear he knew why Kitty was asking - and that he'd run down that possibility already and proven it wrong in his own mind at least. "It started very organically. I don't think Billy _made _this happen. If I did -"

"Okay. Good … okay. I'll trust you on that. You know your son better than anyone. I haven't met Billy more than a couple of times though. I don't know him. I had to put it out there. So lets figure out how to do this, okay? I'll call you back when I can get a little time. Think it over, please."

"Okay. See if you can find a way for me to end up talking with Erik, even if it's just a visit to the school. I need to get in his ear if I want to have a shot at all."

"Hey, I'll call if I find out he's going to go floating over to the school even," Kitty said. "Like I said he's _not _happy with a lot of things around those kids."

Scott let out a sigh. "Alright. I'll… talk to my kids. And I'll think of a good argument for Erik on why I'd be willing to side with him. All I've got right now is 'desperate dad'."

"Which considering how the past ten, fifteen years have gone? That might be your best bet."

"Right. Sell him a line on how I'm worried the world will tear them apart like they did us… hell, that's not even a line."

"Pretty sure that's spot on," Kitty said.

"Okay. Let me know next time he's in Westchester."

"Will do," Kitty said. "And Scott? Take it easy on them. Their hearts are in the right places if they're stepping out like _that_."

Scott sighed. "Yeah, I know. Their hearts are _always _in the right places. Doesn't make them any less…" He trailed off. "I'll talk to you later."

With that, Scott hung up, his own thoughts echoing in his head for a good long while as he tried to wrap his mind around everything. It had been so long since he'd had anything to do with this particular fight, but he remembered how Magneto could be, how he could steamroll anyone in his path. And he didn't doubt that if Kitty was calling from Genosha to ask for _help_, it was a serious situation. Kitty and Bobby had quietly been handling problems on Genosha for a long time now; he knew that much from Alex…

He sat down and ran both hands through his hair - and stayed that way more or less until the kids came home.

"Hey dad," James called out, perfectly casually as he tossed his keys on the counter. "Brought home Chinese if you're interested."

Scott tried to keep his temper as he got up and went to where the kids were in the kitchen unloading boxes of takeout. "I saw the news," he said flatly.

"Figured that would happen," James said under his breath.

"What were you _thinking_?" Scott asked sharply, looking at all three of them in turn. "You _know _the X-Men left those uniforms - that name - behind for a _reason_. You can't just go out there putting a giant target on your- _James_, do you know how many organizations in the world saw-"

"Sixty two," James said. "Give or take. That's how many have programs that Natasha's been able to find anyhow. Might be more after this, honestly." He didn't sound pleased, but he wasn't alarmed either.

"And you just announced yourselves to the world!" Scott narrowed his eyes, especially when none of them looked sorry. "You can't _do _this - after everything that - the _precautions _\- the work _everyone _went through! You _know_ \- you can't risk everything like this!"

"Do you know how long it's been since Warren was out to fly?" Nate asked, perfectly calm, as though he'd been waiting for this for years, and in actuality, he had. "Or how much he wants to be able to _live_ again? How much he misses all the good you used to do with the team?"

"Or what about all the people looking at the school again as it gets bigger?" Rachel pressed when Scott frowned. "They're not backing off just because we're hiding. They're looking at it because there's so _many _mutants asking for sanctuary."

"The mutant birth rate is rising," James said, though his gaze was on the ground almost as if it pained him to admit it. "It has been for decades, but they're finally starting to find out what they are now. Dr. Richards has been doing everything in his power to wreck anyone developing fast track genetic tests to use on kids and newborns for years even though there's been a call for it. Tony's been pushing his contacts to squash any unconstitutional laws … and for the kids our age and younger it's still like it was when you were young. Parents are kicking their kids out over something they have no control over. The _fear _just walking around the city is off the charts. For everyone."

"You always said the X-Men were heroes," Nate put in. "Kinda sucks to have them out of the picture now."

"We want to do what you did - what you set out to do," James said as he finally looked up to meet Scott's gaze. "It's _time _to see Xavier's dream play out."

"You're going to get yourselves killed," Scott said. "You made these _same _arguments to become Avengers, but now you're pulling _this_?" He gestured toward the TV in the living room playing the news. "Do you have a death wish?"

"Dad," James said, letting his shoulders drop. "You know none of us are that deep."

"You're picking a fight with _Magneto _for your opening move," Scott said. "I know he upset you but this isn't like the games you play with Stark, James!"

"We weren't fighting Magneto," James said gently. "We were saving the people he was stomping on."

"That's the point," Rachel said in a more soothing tone. "I thought the X-Men were there to look out for anyone overlooked. You said you guys looked out for the people the Avengers didn't see. We're not trying to take on the whole world. We're just out to show _normal _people we're not big scary bad guys." She paused. "Especially when the biggest mutant news right now is a big, scary bad guy."

"He's not a bad guy when he's home," James said quietly to Nate.

"You're biased," Nate whispered back.

"I just like it when he goes home and stays there," James admitted.

"Hear, hear," Nate said before he let out a sigh and turned back to their dad. "No one's asking you to come back, Dad. You guys already did the hard work. You showed the world what the X-Men were supposed to be and laid out the ground work for us to finish for you."

"But the world _misses _you," Rachel said. "The team - all of it. They didn't see how good you all were until you were gone."

Scott frowned as he watched all three of them - knowing he couldn't argue against his _own _philosophies. "Damn it," he muttered under his breath and sat down at the table with one hand on his temple. "Damn it all."

"So…." Nate said slowly, though he'd put a hand up to stop James from moving toward Scott when it was so clear to him that James was having second thoughts. He didn't need to read his brother's mind to know that he already thought they might have pushed their dad too far. And that would end up pushing James back off the team if they weren't careful. So he tried to carefully redirect both of them. "We brought dinner?"

James glanced at Nate and stepped toward Scott. He had to try and reassure their dad somehow. "We're not going to ignore your advice. But this is something all of us have been thinking about for a very long time. I promise you, I've run down every single avenue to look for a different way to handle this. _I have_. If there was another way to do it, I'd have gotten started o it already."

"The world _needs _the X-Men, Dad," Rachel said quietly. "Maybe one day they won't anymore, but that will only happen if people aren't _scared _to be who they are. You know it too; I know you do."

Scott didn't look up at them for a long time before he finally let out a sigh that slumped his shoulders. "Fine," he said. "But every one of you needs a panic button with a direct line to the Avengers. The _second_ something goes wrong, call them in. I mean it." He looked between the three kids. "No one knew what had happened to us because we did everything ourselves. Do _not _make that mistake. Understood?"

"Yes," the three of them answered in unison before all of them shared a look and made their way closer to wrap their dad up in a hug.

"I'll work on integrating the panic button in the morning," James promised.

Scott nodded, wordlessly hanging onto them until he got his feet underneath himself again. "Don't go anywhere until it's done. Not in those uniforms. I can't lose you too."

"Yes, sir," James replied.

"Love you too, Dad," Rachel said.


	39. The X-Men Return

**Chapter 39 - The X-Men Return**

* * *

Whatever Erik had expected to come of his shaking up the world on their stance on mutants after years of relative silence, the very last thing that had come to mind was the possibility of facing his grandsons as they took up his old friend's flag. To say that Erik was shocked to see a new iteration of the X-Men reforming was an understatement in itself after the discussion he'd had with Ororo, but this …

They simply shouldn't have been there. Nothing that he'd heard from the old guard of Charles' X-Men indicated that there was even a consideration of reforming. Yet … As Erik razed a building that had been a set of offices that were central to a SHIELD operation, it wasn't the Avengers that had come to the aid of the humans inside. When he first saw the x-badge on the glowing-team members, Erik had very nearly tossed a car at them for insulting his old friend's legacy. Until he realized that there was a speedster in the mix - and a certain crown prince that he had his own plans for. It was stunning enough that for a long moment, he didn't quite realize that Ororo's daughter, Scott's children, and Logan's boy were even there. But once he saw them, he found himself pausing.

Anyone else would have found themselves squashed already.

But he couldn't do that to his own blood. And he couldn't do that to _Scott _after all he'd already lost. So instead of doing anything more proactive, Erik simply finished what he'd come to do and quietly left as if these new X-Men hadn't even been there.

He was almost as livid as he was shocked. William had said _nothing _to indicate that he'd even consider galavanting around like a common pawn. It had to be the influence of the Summers children. There was no other explanation. And though he wasn't sure what the response from the old X-Men were going to be, he knew, without a doubt that he would have to take the time to have a _serious _talk with his grandsons. Especially when they were clearly keeping secrets from him.

Regardless of what Wanda and her little android thought, this was simply unacceptable behavior for his princes. And they would be dealt with accordingly. He had only taken off his helmet to make the phone call, and he didn't even need to say a word before William was rapidly explaining himself.

"I know you're angry," he said, 'And I am sorry about that, but the fact is, after seeing what things have been like here for mutants, we do need to change things. I just think … that after seeing how much they're missed that the X-Men are the answer. Not force."

"William," Erik said patiently. "Had the X-men ever been the answer, this would have been settled years ago - while you were still a child. Nothing has changed for these humans."

"But - that's where you're wrong," he replied quietly. "The rest of my team -the rest of the X-Men - they _know _that you're not entirely wrong."

"And they've said as much to you?"

"Well … one or two has," Billy replied quietly. "But the point … listen. People here - not just mutants, but humans too … they hold the memory of the old team as something _good_ and unifying. I just think … that maybe it would be easier on mutants that aren't on Genosha if we can follow closer to that."

"Or," Erik said. "You can get them to see _sense _and understand that their best chance of continued survival is to _join us._" When Billy didn't answer right away, Erik continued. "You have a _duty _to the people of Genosha, and if you truly believe that the X-Men are the way to the liberation of mutants, then the only way for that to happen is with a unified front."

Again, Billy didn't really reply, so Erik pressed on, carefully choosing his words as he informed his grandson on how to manipulate his friends into doing as Erik said.

"And a word of warning: if you lie to me or hide things from me again, I will bring you back to Genosha by any means necessary."

It wouldn't be easy to get the boys to turn these young X-men, he was sure. Especially with two telepaths already on the team, but … if they were to be saved, this would be how it would happen. And if anything happened to his grandsons, then what was left of the X-Men would pay for it.

* * *

"So, you want to know the weirdest part? I think Kate is the only one _not _grounded out of all of us, and I'm pretty sure we could argue it's discrimination," Nate said as he let himself into James' lab with some coffee. They were _all _grounded, limited to school and whatever commitments they already had - though it was worse for the kids at the school, who were practically on lockdown.

"You mean outside of Billy and Tommy? That doesn't surprise me one bit," James said as he worked on the tiny panic button that was to be incorporated into their uniforms. "Your sweetheart's got a circus boy for a dad, so you know …"

"She says he high-fived her when she got home," Nate said, shaking his head to himself.

James snorted at that. "Of course he did. How was Aunt Widow?"

"Worried about you, obviously, because you're her _favorite_, but mostly glad to see the family tradition being carried on…"

He shrugged. "No I'm not," James said. "Rachel's her favorite. She has a thing about helping other redheads cause trouble."

"_Sure_ she does," Nate said as he sat down by James. "Really, though, I think they're happy about it, same as Jan. Not _all _the adults are paranoid."

"I haven't seen anyone yet today," James said. "Or I'd give you a better cross section of what's what. Maybe they think I quit already…."

Nate tapped the side of his head. "Well, Cap's worried. That's _broadcasting _loudly because he thinks our whole family is about to explode or something."

"He's always worried about something," James said. "Unless he gets mad at someone and just goes all … rage Cap. He's got the best 'how dare you look at them crooked' thing going on." He set his soldering gun down and turned to Nate - though that was to steal part of Nate's bagel, too. "How's Jan doing?"

"You mean besides dealing with Tony finding out his wife was secretly co-conspiring with us?" Nate asked with a crooked grin. "Actually holding up alright. Worried about Dad, obviously. And you."

"Yeah, that. I was a little concerned that might be why Tony hasn't made his usual obnoxious rounds today. I know he's going to be mad at me. "

"She's dealing with it," Nate said. "And no, I'm not sharing dirty details."

"Oh, _why _would you go there?" James said as he made a spectacular face and let his whole body slump.

"_You _asked."

"I didn't ask _how _things were working out, I just said I was concerned."

"Hey, I have to know things, and now you do too," Nate said with a smirk.

"You don't think I know things anyhow?" James said, tapping his nose. "_You _can shut it off and avoid it. I can't. You only know all the things because you're _nosy_ about it."

"Rachel's worse," Nate defended.

"She really is," James agreed before the brothers settled into a more familiar relaxed stance with their coffee and now-shared bagel. "You sticking around for a while? I was thinking about ordering up and going home a little late, but I don't know how that would work out for the old man's blood pressure, honestly."

"Yeah, you know he's not handling it well, right?" Nate said. "And he's totally shut me and Rachel out."

"Yeah, he hasn't been real open with me either," James said. "But I know if I return the favor, it'll just escalate things."

"Rachel took his phone," Nate said. "He's been talking with Kitty, apparently."

"That's interesting," James said. "I thought she was in the mutant paradise."

"From what I've seen in the twins' heads, 'paradise' is a massive misnomer."

"Is nothing sacred, Nate?" James said in a sigh.

"Hey, I get to play protective little brother sometimes," Nate defended. "He's a good guy; I just wanted to make sure, all things considered!"

"Oh yeah?" James laughed. "So you were checking him out by running through his head."

"And Tommy's," Nate said. "_That _guy I'm watching closer. For Mia's sake."

James smiled at Nate for that. "He's hilarious. Especially if you get him all wound up and competitive."

"He also _really _wants to score," Nate said.

"Too bad for him," James said. "Mia's not going to be that easy."

"Yeah, well, the point is, something's rotten in the state of Genosha, and I think Dad's… almost backing us up? In his way?" Nate shrugged. "Checking up on Magneto to see threat level… I think. It's hard to tell when he's also pretty darn convinced we're gonna _die_."

"Maybe it's time I asked him about Logan," James said quietly. "Might redirect him a little."

"Or give him a heart attack."

"Do you know what happened?" James asked. "I don't. All I know is 'all hell broke loose' and half the team died. I am _incredibly _curious on what could have killed two healers. Aren't you?"

"Rachel … saw bits of it," Nate admitted slowly. "And… the thing is, even what she _has _seen looked pretty bad. It's all… cells and collars and Ororo in a _box_."

"I still want to know," James said.

"Yeah," Nate said. "Yeah, me too. I want to know what made my mom lose it like she did."

"I love Dad, and I don't know where I'd be without him - but I still want to know what happened to my parents," James said before he let out a breath and held Nate's gaze. "Billy did a spell for me. Did you see _that _in his head while you were measuring how evil you think he is?"

Nate paused and then nodded. "I ... figured you wouldn't want me looking at too much of that. It seemed private. So I just skimmed it over."

James nodded to himself. "He did it so I could get a chance to see what Logan was really like. I got both of them instead. It was just the memories hidden away that I was too little to really … grasp right, I guess." He tipped his chin down to his chest. "That's what really sealed it for me, you know. I don't know how many other kids got _good parents _ripped away from them, but I'm pissed off about it."

"Yeah." Nate held his breath. "You know Rachel told me when I got my powers… I was freaked out but she told me at least I didn't have the Phoenix, right?"

James nodded. "Yeah, and I've been convinced I'm going to die anyhow since everything turned on."

"Yeah, but … the Phoenix tells you what it thinks you want and you know she can hear Mom, right?" Nate said.

"I didn't know that," James admitted, looking honestly concerned. "She didn't tell me."

"She didn't even tell Dad. I just heard it because she was freaked out and projecting around me," Nate admitted. "But … but she said Mom was proud of us, and this was back when we were still just _talking _about being X-Men. All three of us. So I think we're doing alright."

"I hope so," James said quietly, staring at his hands for a long while. "Do you think Storm has any pictures of them? All three of them." He gave Nate a little smile. "I could show you my parents, but … I doubt you want to see tiny me."

Nate snorted. "Tell you what," he said, "one of these days, let's sit down with you, me, and Rachel, and she can show you what the Phoenix showed her of our mom, and you can show us yours. But all three of us. Considering what we're starting, I don't want to leave anyone out anymore."

"Only if she comes up with that on her own," James said. "I don't want to intrude on her at all."

"Hey, if she hears where your head's at? It's happening."

"I have to project for that," James said. "And I'm trying to give her space. I know you two have a lot of other things on your minds." He tapped on the workbench. "Anyhow. I think I have the panic button done. Take a look. Tell me if it's easy enough to work."

Nate raised both eyebrows and then grinned as he picked up the little button. "Hey, I like it," he said. "You could hide that anywhere, really. The bad guys wouldn't even know backup was coming until it was too late."

"Figured we could put it _in _the badge," James said. "Couple on every uniform."

"More than just a fashion state-" Nate laughed. "Oh crap. Kate has me doing it now."

"Yeah, you were born into it," James snickered. "Just admit you love it."

"Didn't say I didn't love it," Nate said. "Just said I was getting sucked in."

"You'd wear purple hip holes if she asked you to," James said, laughing.

"I would not. I draw the limit _somewhere!_"

"You so would. You could match. Twinsies."

"Shut up, James," Nate laughed.

"Or … maybe you could wear _just _what she's got cut out. Scare the hell out of whoever we're fighting …"

"You're going to give her ideas!"

"I think I will," James said, pulling out his phone to text Kate as much. "New challenge, Squawkeye - Nate wants a uniform composed entirely of what's left from hip holes and single sleeves." He hit the send button then grinned at him. "There. Done."

"You're a horrible brother," Nate deadpanned, though he was smiling crookedly. There hadn't been a lot of time for joking around lately, so this was a welcome distraction.

James held up his phone. "We have a response already."

_Oh, silly James. You act like that doesn't already exist just for ME. You're not invited, _Kate replied.

_I really don't want to see it, but he brought it up. Said you couldn't make it happen. _

_Lies, _was the one-word response.

_I'm a little worried on where a panic button might go though, so I'll leave that to the experts. _

_Glad to know you recognize genius when you see it. _

_Stretching, princess. _

_There you are. I knew it burned to compliment me. _

_I just don't like to lie. Even for a good cause. We're in the lab if you want to see your sweetheart before he's back home and grounded. Though I do have the panic buttons done so … _

_Oooh! On my way!_

"She just can't get enough of you, Nate," James said, shaking his head.

"You're such a pain, you know that?" Nate said, though he was laughing.

"That's why you come here, isn't it?" James said, pocketing one of the buttons. "This one goes to Dad to look over."

"We should give one to Dad to _keep_," Nate said thoughtfully. "I mean, with us stepping out, there could be a backlash and if we show him we know there could be trouble _anywhere_…"

"That's what I said. Kinda. If we give it to him and tell him to keep it, he'll probably get huffy, but if it's 'to look over'," he said, making air quotes, "then he'll _have _it."

"_I'd _feel better if he took it with him everywhere, seeing as he's worried about _Genosha_."

"Then _you _talk him into it," James said. "He won't listen to me and he likes you best."

"It's because I'm amazing," Nate said with a shrug.

"It's because you're not Phoenixing or wearing _stripes._ And … you're the baby. Spoiled."

"You're never gonna let that die, are you?"

"Nope. If I gotta listen to the 'middle kid' crap, you're stuck with the baby stuff."

"There's no hope of getting another baby in the family when Dad's like he is, either," Nate sighed dramatically. "I'm _stuck_."

"Forever and ever. Unless …. You know. He decides to adopt another poor, lost, little, pitiful orphan."

"He might. Maybe that's what he's calling Genosha for," Nate said.

James snorted laughing at that. "Sure, Nate. Hold on to that hope."

"Someone's gotta," Nate said with a smirk, then raised his voice when there was a knock at the door. "I also like holding onto Hawkeyes."

"Both of them? Jeez, Nate. I don't know what to say. Other than … I'm concerned."

Kate was giggling as she let herself in. "You're such a good big brother," she teased and kissed James' cheek.

"I try," he said. "I should ask when you guys are getting married the way you're going, though."

"Um, we're in high school," Kate said, rolling her eyes. "Pump the brakes, James."

"Yeah, but he's just like Dad …" James said, grinning widely.

"Shut up, James. I'm not getting married straight out of graduation," Nate grumbled.

"No, it'll be your eighteenth birthday."

"You planning on holding the shotgun?" Kate asked.

"Nope, I'll be taking pictures." He tipped his head. "Unless that's you saying there's a _reason _there should be a shotgun."

"That would be a definite _no_," Kate said, her eyes wide and horrified.

James was chuckling as he waved her over. "So. The buttons are done and I think we can work them into the badges."

"More than a fashion statement," Kate said - and Nate tried hard not to fall over laughing.

"You two are mind melded," James said with a crooked smile. "He said the same thing then wanted to practice his runway walk for you."

"Oh, is _that _where that text came from?" Kate laughed.

"I try to keep you in the loop for these things, Katherine."

"Because you love me," Kate agreed as she came to sit down in Nate's lap.

"If you say so," James said, shaking his head as he went back to tinkering. "If you're going to start in though, I _will _have to ask you to find somewhere else. I can't do my job and big brother properly while you're trying to get your shotgun wedding started up."

The picking didn't even really get a chance to get off the ground before the door opened again - but this time it wasn't another member of their fledgeling team. And it was crystal clear that Tony was _not _happy.

"Hi, Uncle Tony," Kate sang out sweetly in a tone that she'd used a hundred times when she was little to get out of trouble.

"Uh-uh, no. that's not gonna work," Tony snapped her way. "What the _hell _were you three thinking, huh?" He was glaring at all three of them and any humor they'd had was out the window that quickly.

When Kate looked _shocked _that Tony had gotten mad at her, Nate shook his head. _Looks like we're having this argument again, _he projected to the other two before he said, "Come on; tell me you don't know we're right. You married _Jan_. I know you know things aren't as good for mutants as the superficial 'we're not dead so that's good' level look would say."

"That doesn't mean you go out there parading around with an 'x' on your chest like some kind of _glowing target_," Tony shot back. "This is something to leave up to the _adults_. You're not _trained _for this."

"Trained for what, exactly?" Nate shot back. "Helping civilians?"

"The kind of heat that badge brings down on you - it's not what you're doing - it's what the bad guys are going to do _to_ you," Tony replied. "You want to help? Do more rounds with the Avengers. Make a patrol out of it for Christ's sake, but don't …" he turned and pointed a finger at James. "And _you _aren't even on our team. That's just _asking _for it."

"I'm on my own team," James replied perfectly calmly, though that only seemed to wind Tony up tighter.

"And it's not just the team you need to be worried about," Tony bellowed, which got James to honestly take a step back. "I'm _relying _on you. You're supposed to step in when I'm ready to step down. What do you think I've been training you for with all the business classes and giving you every damn thing you could possibly want in this lab?"

When it was clear Tony had knocked the slats out from under James, Kate stepped up. "It's not like the Avengers aren't dangerous too," she reasoned. "I got kidnapped, like, three times by Hydra when I was in elementary school…"

"That's not it either, and you know it," Tony said. "You go out there as X-Men, you don't _have_ any connections. You don't _have_ the back up -"

"Is that your way of saying you're disowning us? Or that you're changing your mind about what you want from me?" James said. "Because if this is a press job for that, it's not going to work. You _know _I'll stick to your plan. But I don't see why helping fix the rampant _racism _would hurt your company if you want me to take over eventually. It's not going to fix itself."

Tony looked like he was ready to tear into James freshly for that, but Nate intervened. "Besides," Nate said, grabbing the panic button James had made and handing it out to Tony. "We made these. Well, James did. Dad's idea, though. Hit the button, call for a rescue."

"I'm not going to even _consider _that as an option unless every last _one _of you joins up on _our _team," Tony said. "And more than just as a title. You have to do the rounds like _everyone _else that wants to be an Avenger."

"You're just trying to keep us from having _time _to do the X-Men," James said, though Tony didn't look as if he was going to even deny it.

"And most of us are already on the team anyway," Kate pointed out. "I mean, unless you want to talk to Storm about Mia and Magneto about the grandkids…"

Tony looked more irritated at that. "Yes. And Cyclops about his junior Wolverine. They need _permission_. Because they're _minors. Just like you are._"

"It'd be Wanda, not Magneto," James said to Kate as he kept his focus on Tony. "And I'm pretty sure Scarlet Mom would be tickled if they wanted to be Avengers. Not a problem there. Storm and Dad though …"

"Dad already let Rachel and I do it. Go with Rachel to talk to Storm," Nate suggested. "She can't say no to Rachel the older she gets and the more she looks like Mom."

"No," Tony said. "You want to pull this crap, _you _figure it out, but you're not going to be using _our team _for back up unless you can do that."

"Oh, so just because my big sister is an adult, she's off-limits for team-ups?" Nate rolled his eyes. "Good to know."

"No, that's fine," James said, holding one hand up to signal Nate to hold off. "It's not what he meant. I get it. Nate, we can talk to Storm." He took a second to project out the rest. _Rachel's not the only one she has trouble saying no to. _

_Point._

"When's practice?" James said to Tony, arms crossed.

"Ask Cap," he said, turning to leave. "_He's_ the one that said he'd handle the whole X-Men thing. But _I've _got my own concerns that reach farther than just you on the teams."

"Fair," James said, nodding, and that, if nothing else seemed to be enough to get Tony to relax a little. As soon as Tony left, James looked back at Nate. "You want to call Dad or should I?"

"I'll call Dad if you call Ororo," Nate said without missing a beat.

"I'm just gonna drive out there," James said. "Harder to say no to face to face. You comin'?"

"Absolutely," Nate said.

"Me too," Kate put in. "I want to watch you guys work."

"Tag along," James teased.

Kate grinned and nodded. "Yep. Token human tagalong."

James shook his head and started picking up the things scattered on the workbench, though he pocketed the panic buttons - one for Scott and the other for Ororo. The rest went into a little box that he'd pass to Jan on the way out the door. "I'll go talk to Steve," James said. "Get the official details so I can say I dotted all the 'i's and crossed my t's."

"Probably a good idea, considering how thin the ice is," Kate said, making a face.

"Meet you in the garage," James said. "And I'm driving, you lunatic."

"Okay. I'll just make out with your brother in the back seat!"

"Uh huh. Knew you were working your way up to that shot-gun wedding." James called over his shoulder as he headed out to track down Steve to make it official.

* * *

When the three of them got to Westchester, James took a moment to sit there with his hands over his face. "I'm already getting more mad about all the hoops," James said.

"We knew the adults would freak out on us," Nate pointed out.

"I know, and we've spent all this time trying not to piss them off or freak them out," James said.

"We're teenagers; I think that's in the job description, right?" Nate said with a crooked grin.

"Sure, that's it," James said flatly before he frowned, nodded to himself once and then got out. "Whatever. Let's just get moving on this, huh?"

_We knew it was gonna be hard when we agreed to wear the uniforms, _Nate said, trying to buck his brother up. _And we didn't give Dad a heart attack on the spot, so this is actually going well. _

_Sure, _James said. _Just makes me want to push harder, if you want to know the truth. _

_Oh good, because I was thinking the same thing, _Nate said.

_I hate going against Dad. You know that. But it's overdue, and if Tony really does want me to run things … there's no way that it wouldn't be a blow to SI. One more thing to worry about on top of Dad's stress levels._

_We all have our concerns, _Nate said. _And we're all worried about Dad. Rachel's been trying to convince him to get _help _but apparently, the last time he asked anyone for therapy, Emma Frost tried to have a telepathic affair with him using my Mom's face so… _

_Alright, but can you blame him for not wanting to try there?_

_Not even a little bit. _

The three of them let themselves into the relatively empty entryway and crossed the foyer headed right for Storm's office, where it looked like she had been having more or less the same argument all the other adults were having with their kids, if Mia's switching tail and angry glare was anything to go by.

"Should we come back?" James asked, doing his best version of an innocent expression.

Both of them looked up at the newcomers, and Ororo let out a sigh before she shook her head. "I'm surprised to see you here. I would have thought Scott and Tony would have you under lock and key after that stunt you pulled."

"We're on parole," Nate defended.

"First of all, it wasn't a stunt," James said, holding up one hand. "And second, the parole has conditions."

"Oh?" Ororo raised an eyebrow at them, clearly waiting for the other shoe to drop.

James started toward her and reached into his pocket to hand her one of the panic buttons. "Dad knows that if he's too overbearing it'll just cause bigger problems, so he told us to get a panic button that will call in the Avengers if we have any whisper of trouble." He didn't let her refuse it as he dropped it into her hand. "I'd like if you and Forge looked them over before we do anything with them officially."

Ororo looked honestly surprised as she looked at the small button. "That… is not a bad idea," she said.

"And as for Tony, there were more conditions," James said, holding her gaze. "They said the only way we'd get protection was for those of us not on the team yet to join the Avengers. Steve said the invitation was to the twins and Mia, too - for more protection, better training, and a safety net."

Ororo looked to Mia, who was standing with her hands clasped under her chin and her tail swaying behind her, obviously hopeful - and it was hard to say no to something so _reasonable_. "Let me look at this panic button," she said. "Then perhaps I'll talk to Steve about working with Mia's school schedule."

James let his shoulders drop and gave her a crooked smile. "You think I'd pull your leg, Aunt 'Ro?"

"I think there's more to this than your smooth tongue will let slip," she said with a fond smile. "You get that from your mother."

"Ask me anything, you know I won't lie to you," James said, still smiling at her.

"Then tell me why you resurrected the team," Ororo said, holding his gaze. "I know what Mia said, but I want to hear your answers. All of you."

The teasing smile slipped, but James didn't miss a beat. "To honor my parents, Nate and Rachel's mom, the professor, and all of _you_," James said. "I won't ever admit it anywhere else or _to_ anyone else, but Magneto wasn't entirely wrong. The way he's trying to change things now is wrong, and the way he's perverting the professor's dream is _insulting _to what Dad and you taught us about the professor. The fact that he's doing it while waving the 'X-Men' flag like he ever did anything but fight you on it burns me. So, speaking for myself? I want to do it right. Show the world how it's supposed to look."

Ororo's expression had significantly softened by the time James finished saying his piece, though she didn't say anything as Kate and Nate chimed in too.

"James is right," Nate said with a shrug. "And I don't argue with my big brother when he's right. Plus, I'm tired of seeing my dad get scared every time something hits the news having to do with mutants. I know the Avengers are putting out fires, but I didn't sign up to be a firefighter, you know?"

And when Kate realized Ororo was waiting for her and not just assuming like everyone else had that she was on the team for Nate, she blushed. "It's just… it's stupid everyone thinks only the mutant heroes should take the biggest risk, so like… if I can help _and _be on a team with Nate, win-win, right?"

For a long time, Ororo was silent as she stared at them, and then she cleared her throat, straightened her shoulders, and nodded. "You… certainly are the X-Men I remember," she said, trying and failing to keep her composure before, in the next second, she had her arms around James, since he was closest, in a tight hug.

"You know we love you guys, right?" James said as he curled into her shoulder.

"And you know that you mean the whole world to us, don't you?" she told him gently.

"Yeah, but that's why we have to do it, too," James said.

"You really are so much like them. All of you. Just like us - bright-eyed and hopeful and wanting to make a difference…" She shook her head and stepped back from the hug. "_Be careful_."

"We promise," Nate said, holding one hand up. "None of us want anything bad to happen to _anyone._"

"I should hope not," Ororo said. "I'd hate to think Scott raised masochists."

"The whole reason it took us so long to get going was because we were worried about him," Nate said.

"And now?" Ororo asked, sounding concerned herself.

"I know I can't see into the future, but it's easy to see that now, if we don't do something, Magneto is going to drag it all through the mud and everything will get worse," Nate replied. "And maybe, _maybe _if we can pull this off - Dad might realize we're not going to disappear on him."

"You know I want success for you," Ororo said, looking between all of them, her gaze resting especially on Mia. "But you also know _why _I'm asking you to be careful, don't you?"

The three of them nodded, and though it was clear they felt the gravity of it, James was frowning to himself as he agreed with the others.

"So…" Mia said slowly. "Does this mean I'm an Avenger now?"

"Even if she says yes?" Nate said. "Technically you have to pass Cap's entry exam."

"I'll help you," Kate promised. "I got in when I was just old enough to have 'being a teenager' on my side. I've got a few tips and tricks."

"We can all help you," Nate added then turned to Ororo. "And so you know? We told Dad we wouldn't turn down his advice - short of 'don't do it at all'. We'd be stupid not to offer the same to you."

Ororo smiled almost sadly. "Just don't get ahead of yourselves," she warned. "Don't make the mistake of hubris. Ask for help."

"All we've done so far is to clean up a mess someone else made," James said. "We're not above asking for help."

"I know," Ororo said. "But we started small and got bigger than we anticipated - faster than we realized. Don't get caught up in it. That's all."

"Keep it small. Keep it family," Nate said, nodding.

Ororo let out a breath and then made sure to hug him too. "I know I can't talk you out of this," she said. "You really are just like we were. I couldn't be prouder - or more worried."

"I think Dad'll have a support group for that - or at least a time to get together and complain about us," James said.

"Don't think I won't be dragging him over here when you're all on missions," Ororo warned.

"Please do," Nate said. "He could use it."

"Then it's settled," Ororo agreed - while Mia tried very hard to act like she wasn't bouncing for joy behind her mother's back.

"Oh, and when you're done looking that panic button over, keep it," James said. "Tell me how many you want and I'll build them for you."

"We know the school's drawing attention too," Nate explained. "And you should probably take your own advice - you know, have a way to call for help?" He smirked. "Maybe the X-Men can save the school. Or help save it anyway. Novel idea, right?"

Ororo smiled at that. "You are _so _much like Scott sometimes," she said, then tipped her head James' way. "Both of you."

"Love you too," James said. "So … I guess if we're not going to get yelled at anymore today, what do you think, Nate? Pick up something on the way home?"

"Burgers and fries?" Nate suggested.

"And a shake for Kate so she doesn't die of lack of sugar?" James said, giving her a look. "Or should we not share?"

There was an obvious telepathic conversation between Kate and Nate, with a lot of significant looks in between, before Nate shrugged. "Can't leave her out. We'd be _discriminating_."

"Alright you can walk," James said as he turned to head for the door. "Both of you. Since you can't keep your minds out of the gutter - no other reason not to speak freely."

Ororo couldn't help but laugh. "Some things never change," she said, grinning broadly.


	40. Dirty Little Secret Comes Out

**Chapter 40 - Dirty Little Secret Comes Out**

* * *

Usually, when James came by to visit the school _and _gave Billy advanced text notice, that meant Billy was waiting to see him with a huge grin on. This time, though, he was on the couch in the living room with his headphones in distractedly grinning over whatever he was listening to.

James didn't interrupt him more than to just slide onto the other end of the couch, and put his arm up on the back of the couch, then waited for him to finish whatever it was he was up to. He didn't want to interrupt when Billy was concentrating on something that hard.

Suddenly, Billy seemed to notice he wasn't alone. "Oh, hey!"

"Wow. Knew it was a matter of time, but still."

"Sorry. There's this new podcast…" Billy pulled one of the earbuds out and let it dangle around his neck. "PodXcast… It's kind of amazing. Total fangirling of the team. _Way _better press than the news gives us."

"That really doesn't take much," James pointed out as he slid closer.

"Okay, that's true," Billy admitted. "But seriously, you should listen. She's making a lot of our points for us without getting fed any lines…"

"You sure you didn't just wish her into being?"

"That's what Tommy said…" Billy admitted, blushing. "I didn't though."

James was grinning at him for that. "Subliminal wish?"

"Hey, if I was going to wish someone into being, it would be a big, strong, sassy - oh hey! Look! You're here!" Billy teased and then stole a kiss. "Yay!"

"Alright, that makes up for missing that I _was _here," James laughed.

"I swear, I just was wrapped up in this podcast," Billy laughed.

"Mmhmm, I'm forgettable. I know." He took a second to give Billy a chance to respond, but when he didn't do more than just stare back, he took the second earbud. "Alright. Hit me. Whatcha got?"

Billy grinned and resumed the podcast, which was talking about the latest X-Men mission - this one going to help some kids that had been busted as mutants accidentally using their powers when they got scared during a Hydra raid. It had actually been pretty seamless… the kids were all Avengers anyway, so they'd seen the trouble brewing and switched gears to help once Hydra was taken care of.

The girl running the podcast - who just gave her name as Alyssa - was _gushing _about the whole thing, obviously thrilled. "This is exactly what the X-Men used to be! I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the Avengers as much as the next girl who loves eye candy, but it's nice to know there's someone out there who can save a couple college kids from losers…"

She went on for a while after that, covering a lot of the same arguments the kids had made to their concerned parents - and the whole time, Billy was grinning at James, watching his expression.

"Well?" he asked. "Pretty awesome, right? And she's not even a mutant!"

"She's definitely enthusiastic," James said, nodding. "I really didn't expect there to be someone this … well. We haven't been doing this for too long, you know?"

"Yeah, but I think that just speaks to how _badly _everyone missed the X-Men, you know?" Billy said.

"Definitely," James agreed. "How long has this 'cast been going on?"

"A couple weeks after our first mission," Billy said. "I think she didn't want to jump on board until she knew we were serious and not just… some publicity stunt, y'know? A lot of people thought we were working with my grandfather… still do, actually…"

"That'll change," James said.

"He's already threatened to drag me and Tommy back to Genosha by our ears," Billy said with a smirk.

"We'd be forced to stage a rescue," James replied with a crooked grin.

"Well, actually…" Billy leaned forward a bit. "We're headed back for Spring Break to see Mom anyway, so we sort of placated him, and promised him we'd listen to what he had to say. Mostly so he'd stop threatening to wrap us in metal and shuttle us home if we don't behave?"

"Nothing says a loving gesture like a metal cocoon."

Billy shrugged. "He's… grumpier the older he gets," he said mildly.

"_Stop_. You're scaring me." James was smiling mildly as he joked around.

"Thinking of the future?" Billy teased, grinning wider. "Worried I'll be a grumpy old man?"

"Yep, and then what would we do?"

Billy grinned and then kissed James. "That, probably."

"Does that help with the grump?" James raised an eyebrow. "Or would it help if I pointed out that at some point, I really won't age anymore?"

Billy grinned. "You mean I get eye candy for the rest of forever? I like this idea."

James laughed and pulled him a little closer. "Dad said Logan was pushing 150 when he died and didn't have a single gray hair."

"Nice. I'll probably go silver like my grandfather," Billy said.

"Well that's not horrible. I mean … look at Tommy. He's already white, right? So he'll probably be bald by that time."

Billy snorted, then leaned back to rest against James' shoulder. "You could come if you wanted," he said. "See the island, I mean."

"Do you want me to?" James asked, smirking crookedly.

"If I say it's because I want you to meet my parents, would you totally bust me for falling too hard too fast? Because I just… it matters to me if you get along with my dad _and _my mom."

"You get along with mine," he said. "It's only fair, right?"

"Ooh, you know what? We should probably bring him so he doesn't get, like, separation anxiety. And I know Kitty and Bobby would _love _to see him again."

"I'd have to ask anyhow," James said. "He was doing a good job of controlling his panic attacks when I go with Tony to the other side of the country. Different continent would probably still trigger an arrhythmia. Besides, he could use a break, let's be honest. Besides, if we're in Genosha, we're not running missions, right? If you mean it, I'll ask him tonight."

"Yeah, I mean it," Billy said. "I've never gotten to take a guy home before. Kinda exciting."

James smiled a little wider. "Alright then. We'll see if Dad's game. So … until then, what are we doing?"

Billy grinned crookedly. "We're writing the future where you're ageless and I'm the only twin with hair and you take care of me 'til the day I die and kiss the sense out of me every night …"

"Just every night?"

"Of course not. Mornings, noon, and whenever I say, too."

"Oh, obviously. So … practice for that then?"

Billy grinned and then stole a long kiss. "Yes. That."

* * *

"What's that for?" James asked as Katie slid a latte to him while pulling up a chair in his lab. He'd been locked in the tower with Tony for days working on the military project and entirely concentrated on whatever it was the new 3D printer was churning out - not that he'd told anyone what it was yet.

"Just trying to be nice, that's all," she replied with a smile. "That's all."

James raised an eyebrow but haltingly took the coffee. "I'm not saying I believe you … but thanks." He took a sip of the coffee then settled in as Kate got comfy, peeking over at what he was working on.

"Is that for the team?" she asked when she saw the tiny, sharp edges. When James looked up at her, she batted her eyelashes and grinned, knowing it would at least get a smirk out of him. He was practically her brother, as it was - the fact that she was dating Nate hadn't changed that much.

"Absolutely not," James said, then pulled a small tray over to let her take a look. "Just for you. But you knew that or you wouldn't have brought me coffee, right?"

"I … might have heard from Jan that you were working up something new." She grinned as she pulled the box closer. "What are they?"

"Low dose sedative," James answered. "You had all kinds of deterrents, I figured it was time you got something that would sedate a threat harmlessly."

"So I can totally save Nate's butt when he gets in trouble," Kate decided as she picked up the container and grinned at the fact that it wasn't just a handful of them like Tony usually made for her Dad - this was enough to last her for _months_. "Awww, you do love me."

"I'm pretty sure I have to at this point," James said as he went back to his work. He'd just reached for a screwdriver when it and every other metallic component in the lab suddenly started to float. At first, James frowned, then looked to Kate, who looked just as confused as he was an instant before they were hit by a tremendous wind as the metal holding the glass in place on the outer walls peeled back to admit Magneto, who looked thunderous.

"Can I help you?" James said as dryly as he could manage about half a second before he found himself wrapped up tightly in wires and whatever bits of metal Magneto had pulled out of the walls around them. It was tight enough to keep him from fighting back, but not _quite _tight enough to dig in deeply.

And before Magneto could say anything, a ball of plastic wire covering hit him in the back of the helmet. "What, do they not teach you how to say a polite hello on Genosha? What is your _problem_?"

"This doesn't concern you, young lady," Erik said shortly.

"Um, you wrapped up my second favorite Summers. I'm concerned."

"Kate, just go," James said from between his teeth. "He's not going to do anything _stupid_ like piss off his grandson by being more of a jackass and _actually _hurting me." He glared at Erik with every bit of venom that they'd gotten acoss on their first meeting at Xaviers. "He knows that would blow up in his face. He's just like this."

"Yeah, well, I'm protective of you, so… there," Kate said with a shrug. "Hi, Magneto, by the way. What's got your cape twisted?"

"That is a private matter," Erik said. "And it doesn't concern little _Avengers _and would-be X-Men."

Kate gestured toward James with one hand. "Um, you attacked someone on both teams in the presence of an Avenger _in _Avengers' tower, so I'm just gonna have to disagree with that assessment. Assault by magnetic burrito is still assault."

"He's just mad I'm with Billy," James said. "It's not about the teams."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Seriously? Your grandkid finds a beefcake and you're pissed about it?"

James stared at her in disbelief, and Erik seemed to be doing the same, though before James could find the words to respond, Erik got there first. "That has no bearing on matters."

"It's not that he found someone, it's that it's _me_," James said. "I'm not the right _kind _of mutant."

Once again, Kate rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh. Not bad enough there's the human-mutant divide, now we gotta do subdivisions?" She gestured to James. "What's wrong with him anyway? He's a total cutie and a genius and he's got all the Summers manners drilled into his head. Come _on_."

"Why are you _here_?" Erik asked with a sneer, though when the banging on the door got louder, he flicked his wrist to send an entire bench across the room to barricade the door better. "And more importantly, why haven't you even tried to defend your _friend _if that's how you feel?"

"Well, one, I like Billy and I think he'd be mad if I used his grandfather's cape as a hangman's noose? And two, I'm here because James and I are friends. And three, I didn't bring any wooden stake arrows. So… we can be civilized, right?"

For a moment, Erik simply blinked at her before he started to walk toward her. "What is it that you _do _again, Miss Barton?"

"Cheerlead?" Kate offered with a winning smile.

For an instant, he looked almost amused. "Ah. Now it makes sense. The Avengers will only allow you to parade around as so called 'X-Men' if you keep a token _human_ in your ranks."

"If that were the case, it'd be exactly what the professor would have wanted," James shot back.

"Peaceful coexistence," Kate agreed, nodding fervently. "Isn't that the point?"

"Not anymore" Erik said, turning her way with a snarl. "I think there's been more than enough human interference with mutantkind. And I've had enough of your influence as well."

"Can't take the truth," Kate muttered to James. "Good thing Billy got the sense his grandfather missed out on. Must be his dad's influence."

"I think, Miss Barton, that you'd find you'll live longer if you mind your own business," Erik said. "And as for you." He turned toward James looking just as livid as ever while tightening the metal slightly - but enough that Kate could _see _it moving. "Do not dismiss my offer to _protect _your little group. Unless of course, you're simply biding your time before you find yourself discovering your _real usefulness _inside of a lab isn't going to be _conducting _the experiments. The company you keep will determine who it is holding the _leash_ \- and who you drag _down _with you."

James glared back at him, but surprisingly didn't have anything to respond with before Erik simply _dropped _him and found his own way out, demagnetizing the barricade that had been shoved against the door, though the windows were going to need professional repair. Which meant that James needed help to get _out _of his wrapped up state and his lab was wrecked for the time being.

"Kate," James said after a moment. "Are you okay?"

Kate sniffed slightly and tipped her chin up. "Of course I'm okay," she said. "_You're _the one in a metal cocoon."

"Just … find something to cut through this crap, please."

"Good thing I hang out in your lab," Kate muttered, looking through James' tools until she found a precision laser and a wire cutter. "Okay, tell me if I get too close…"

James turned his head away from Kate and the cutter, only cringing a few times when he got burned from the laser or the wire cutters pinched more than just wire. He was quiet and clearly angry as she worked, though it wasn't until she was done that he spoke again. "Not a word."

"About which part? The metal bodysuit or the fact that Magneto now knows you're a beefcake?" Kate asked with just a bit of her usual teasing - though she wasn't quite on her game and James could see it.

James barely smirked as he shook his head. "He's just mad. We're both fine, and my Dad does _not _need to worry himself over this." He gave her a significant look. "I'm sure Billy already knows that he was coming to _talk_, so just … let it go."

"Yeah, well, I at least have to tell my parents I got busted as a human," Kate said, wincing slightly. "Nate made me swear to tell the Avengers when that happened. He's kinda cute when he's protective."

James gestured around them. "Fifty bucks says the redecorator already knows anyhow, but yeah. You need to tell them that much. For your own safety. Just … ah … leave me out of it."

"Still gonna look out for you - you know that, right?" Kate said. "You're pretty much family."

"I'll be fine, Katie." James' tone was clearly down as he turned and simply started cleaning up a little bit before the sounds of pounding grew louder with shouts accenting the hits. He looked at Kate for a moment, then started pushing the bench out of the way to admit half of the Avengers. "Katie strained her sass-box," James said, then went back to salvage mode while the adults began to take in the damage.

"I couldn't help it," Kate said, then waved at her mom with the tips of her fingers. "Hey, Mom. Promise I'm okay. James backed me up, right, James?"

"Yep," was the sort response, and it was clear he was closing down and getting madder the more he thought about it. "Great rebound, Hawkeye."

"What did he want?" Steve asked, surveying the damage with his eyes narrowed - the Avengers didn't have to ask to find out who was responsible.

"To be sassed," Kate said. "Oh, and to meet Billy's boyfriend."

"It's fine," James said, though he wasn't looking at any of them and he didn't realize how irked he really looked with the determined glare he was wearing .

"I know that look," Natasha started to say, but Kate cut in. (After all, she wanted to back James up, and she knew he really _was _worried about his dad getting too stressed about it.)

"James is… kinda pissed off on my behalf," Kate put in, blushing red. "I got… busted. As a human. Because I couldn't help James except to sass." She glanced up at the other Avengers. "Oh, and he thinks that means the Avengers won't let the X-Men exist as a team without human supervision, so that's fun."

Tony swore outright and started to pace - at least until James pushed a few tablets into his hands. "He didn't take anything with him. It's fine."

"He really was mostly just here to make threats because James is so obviously a bad influence on Billy and I'm _such _an evil human," Kate said, rolling her eyes. "I sassed him away."

"What kind of threats were made?" Natasha asked with a frown.

"Nothing," James said.

"Be a good human and don't interfere," Kate said at the same time - because her version of mad meant she was going to complain about it.

Natasha arched one eyebrow high. "Is that all?"

"Jackass spilled my coffee," James said under his breath, blatantly avoiding answering her as he picked up the now-empty cup then walked over to grab his coat. He turned toward Tony, not even _looking _at Natasha. "Am I going to work with you tomorrow, or do you want me to just stay home until this gets fixed?"

"I'd say dealers choice, but I kinda think you might need a day if you're not even going to answer questions," Tony said, looking far more stressed out than he had in a long time.

"Fine," James said, his lip almost curling as he spoke. "Let me know when I can come back." He started toward the door, only pausing to kiss Kate's cheek. "Glad you're alright. Thanks again for the coffee."

* * *

Of course, Kate wasn't doing a very good job hiding the fact that James had been threatened, no matter how hard she was trying to hold the line. Obviously, her mom was suspicious. But she had been worried enough about James that she hadn't pressed Kate in front of all the other Avengers.

Her dad, on the other hand, was a whole other thing.

Kate was on the roof of the Bartons' building pegging empty soda bottles with dimes - something her dad had taught her to do not long after she was adopted - when Clint sat down with her.

"You know you can't protect him from Magneto on your own, right?" Clint said.

Kate glanced up at him quickly and then went right back to what she was doing. "It's fine, Dad."

"It's not, Katie," Clint said in the exact same tone and meter she had been using. "What did he say to get you to clam up?"

"Dad…"

"Katie," Clint said, copying her whiny tone.

Kate rolled her eyes. "You know I hate it when you do that."

"Well then don't blow me off and I won't have to do it."

Kate huffed out an annoyed breath, but again, Clint stood his ground. So, she hunched her shoulders and rested her chin on her knees. "He just doesn't want his dad to have a stroke worrying about him, okay?"

"That's a valid concern," Clint agreed, scooting closer. "But maybe it would be better for him to know the truth instead of twisting himself up worrying the what-ifs." When Kate raised an eyebrow his way, he shrugged. "I speak 'worried father'."

Kate shook her head and rested her head on his shoulder. "It really wasn't a big deal. It was the supervillain version of Luke going after Scott when James and Dani were a thing. Except with more drama and 'don't mess with my warped vision for the world if you want to live' in there. With swishy capes."

"So was it Luke-level or Red Skull-level? I think I've lost track somewhere," Clint teased.

Kate laughed. "Honestly, it's hard to tell with him. He _definitely _threatened me and more or less told James not to associate with riff-raff if he didn't want to end up with the riff-raff being thrown out or whatever. So sort of a tangential threat? I didn't hear all of it. But he also wrapped James up in metal as an _introduction _before he said anything at all, so he's pissy about James and Billy and will almost definitely try to break my second favorite Summers if Billy gives even the slightest indication he's not interested or, heaven forbid, they _don't work_."

"Kate, that's not nothing from Magneto."

"I know," she said. "But … James isn't wrong either. He's not going to stop dating Billy, and besides, we're already pissing Magneto off wearing the X's, so this isn't new information, right?"

"It is, but the attempt to play it down was valiant."

Kate smiled and snuggled into Clint a little more. "So, can we not talk about supervillains for a minute? I already got interrogated by Uncle Tony _and _Uncle Steve."

"Oooh. Double-teamed?"

"With Mom playing referee."

"You need ice cream, then."

"Yes. Yes, I do."

* * *

Clint had only waited long enough for Kate to get distracted texting with Nate before he told Scott the whole story - and then Scott had waited until James was gone the next morning to get himself breakfast before he even _started _to dissect everything he'd learned.

He wasn't just thinking about the incident with James, either. He still hadn't forgotten Kitty's warnings or the fact that Magneto was showing his face far more often _outside _of Genosha - and drawing down exactly the anti-mutant sentiment that the X-Men and Avengers had managed to keep at bay with their avoidance tactics.

It was starting to feel distressingly familiar, right down to Magneto threatening the feral on the team for being inferior.

Kitty's call was almost enough to get him thinking about dealing with Magneto himself, but knowing his son was in danger too, not to mention his younger son's girlfriend - well, he didn't like the way this was going. He might not have been leading the X-Men anymore, but he hadn't lost the ability to plan ahead and strategize. And mitigating the damage Magneto could do was crucial now - _before _he got too much traction.

He just didn't like his options with the X-Men disbanded and the Avengers even bigger targets because they had failed to stop the _first _X-Men from being killed off. He knew Magneto still harbored a grudge. A big one. If _they _stepped in, he'd kill them. He'd barely held back on Genosha the first time because Tony had been helping Scott at the time.

He sighed and shook himself out of his thoughts when he heard the familiar knock at his front door that meant Toby was there. He hadn't had time to process all this information and form a plan yet, so he put it out of his mind for the time being.

"Why the long face?" Tony asked when Scott opened the door and invited him in wordlessly.

"James is getting a hard time for dating Billy," Scott told him honestly.

"He had to know that was going to happen sooner or later from _someone_," Toby reasoned. "Who was it being a pain?"

"Billy's family, actually," Scott said. "He's dealing with it. I'm waiting to see _how _he deals with it before I decide if I need to step in." He gave Toby a tired smile. "He's almost an adult. I'm _trying _to remember that."

"Well," Toby said slowly. "How bad can it be? The two of them seemed good together when I saw them last. Billy seems like he's stable, so he probably had a good home life … it'll blow over, I'm sure. Your boy isn't the type to start much trouble, that I've seen."

"We'll see," Scott said. He paused. "Do you know who Billy's grandfather is?"

"Does it matter?" Toby asked.

"It's Magneto."

Toby paused, staring at Scott for a long moment. "Well that explains why he's suddenly showing up again."

"Yeah." Scott let out a long sigh. "We'll see how this goes. Billy's parents were Avengers. He seems to take after them. But I'm keeping an eye out."

"You're still not sure about the boy then?" Toby asked.

"I'm as sure as I can be when Betsy tells me he and his grandfather are in regular contact."

Toby went back to stirring his coffee, though it was clearly a habit and not out of necessity at all. "What _exactly _would Billy and his crazy grandfather have to gain by messing with your boy?"

"So far, the worst trouble has been that James is close with the Avengers."

"How is that a problem?" Toby asked.

"To be honest, Magneto never forgave them for not stepping in to help mutants in a more substantial way before the professor and everyone else was killed."

"So … what? Association would mean the kid is guilty of turning on mutants, or ... "

"Toby, all of this is new intel for me too. When I was an X-Man, there were times we could work with Magneto and he was a dependable ally. Other times, he was an egomaniacal villain trying to take the world down with him. I still don't know which way he's leaning. I'll let you know when I do."

Toby nodded at that. "And you know, if your boy needs to talk to someone …" He shrugged. "He's welcome to sit and have coffee anytime. I know he won't _talk_."

"Thanks, Toby."


	41. So Much Teenage Drama

**Chapter 41 - So Much Teenage Drama**

* * *

While Nate was taking a day with his team fo a seminar and James was with Tony working away, Kate was more than happy to take a day to go visit Mia. It was overdue anyhow - and the way she'd heard it from her sources on the ground in Westchester, Mia was in hot water over her speedy boyfriend. And by all her sources, that meant Billy, who had an inside scoop on _everything _concerning his twin.

But he hadn't gotten the time to relay to Kate what he knew, or what was going on with how grounded Tommy was via remote, including how Storm was in charge of enforcing his punishments. Mia knew, though. And she was not thrilled.

The fact remained that Ororo was in charge of _both _of their punishments on a level that was more meaningful than _just _headmistress. Especially when she was making sure that the punishments were complementing each other.

When Kate got to the Institute, Billy and Mia were getting the snacks together in preparation for their night in. Mia had insisted Kate bring a couple of new movies, but the moment she'd walked into the room it was pretty clear that Mia had zero intentions of _watching _them. Especially when so much in her world was so epically unfair.

"We haven't even _done _that much," Mia lamented as she perched on the back of the couch with Kate and Billy watching her rant as they shared the popcorn.

"Whose definition of 'not much' are you working off of?" Kate asked with a smile. "Because there might be a sliding scale for you know … time dating and age ... "

"Doesn't count as much when you're like … practically living together," Mia argued. "Which … _same building._"

"Different _wings_," Kate laughed.

"I know you're enjoying pushing things, but … you really should be careful with Tommy-," Billy said.

"You mean like your grandfather told you to be careful - no. that wasn't it," Mia said with her finger on her chin. "He told you to _steer clear _of James. Not just to be careful."

Billy stared at her for a moment in shocked silence. "How did you…"

"Yeah, Tommy totally threw you under the bus once he got started on _perfect little Billy_." Mia shook her head. "He was honestly surprised Magneto was even mad at you, but he wasn't surprised _you_ didn't get in trouble while your _boyfriend _did."

"How … how mad was he?" Billy asked quietly. "My grandfather, I mean."

As Mia lifted one eyebrow, Kate pushed him in the shoulder. "Are you kidding? He totally rearranged James' lab." Kate frowned, though she stopped short of telling him anything else if James was going to try to keep _secrets_. "You knew about that. I know you did."

"I thought it was more sweeping than just James' lab," Billy said, looking honestly alarmed. "That would explain why there wasn't an answer yet."

"An answer to what?" Mia asked brightly, though the way her tail was swaying was a dead giveaway of how much she was enjoying someone else in trouble.

Billy glanced up at her and shook his head. "Nevermind. We should just … focus on how you're going to have your mother stringing Tommy up and how you'll never be able to be on any team because you love trouble so much."

Mia gasped dramatically and threw a handful of popcorn at Billy. "Like you have room to talk! You're spending every _minute you get _trying to be just as speedy as your brother!"

"Time out," Kate said, holding her hands up in a 'T' in front of herself. "We are not talking about who got how far with who. At all. Ever." She turned to Mia with a grin. "You're too young. And I like coming here to see you." But she honestly couldn't help herself. "But he looks like he's _fun. _You know. With the kissing and troublemaking and … yeah...still not nearly as interesting as my Superior Summers, though."

And while they were chatting and comparing Nate Summers to Billy's _twin _with a level of detail that Billy wasn't entirely comfortable with, Billy took his phone out to text James and find out how bad it had been when Erik had come by. He really wanted to know since James hadn't said what had gone down _at all_. Of course, halfway through drafting the text, he second guessed himself, deleted it, and instead sent a selfie with Kate that Mia photobombed upside down at the last possible moment with a caption of 'wish you were here'.

He wasn't expecting James to reply with 'me too' and a selfie taken by Tony that had both of them, Peter, and little May Parker all working on the military project. Or to be more accurate, Tony, James, and Peter were. May was there simply to keep her out of trouble and it was clear from the pictures she wasn't amused, even if the three brainiacs were having a good time. She was gravitating toward the one person closest in age, though.

But on seeing what was going on - the three guys picking on May, with her hating every second of it and trying to use James as a buffer - Billy didn't want to push or to come off as too … needy. Especially if James wasn't telling him things like when grandfathers attack. So instead of trying to find out what had happened, Billy did the wisest thing he could think of and kept it _light _with a few comments on how James looked and a few emojis. But it wasn't long before he had to ask how things were going with May in the middle, too. He cringed at himself as soon as he'd sent it, but … it was too late to take it back. But the response felt almost mixed.

_Mayday really isn't helping much one way or the other_, James wrote - which was both a little dismissive of her while also going back to her nickname.

Billy _knew _that he and May had been a pretty serious item, but again, he knew that more from the spilling that their friends had done. Not so much what James had said.

"Hey! Are you going to be here with us or are you going to daydream about your man-candy all night?" Kate teased before she reached over to steal Billy's phone.

"Like you're not texting Nate," Billy said, turning away from her to keep it to himself, not that it did him much good with Mia there to snatch it away then teleport to the other side of Kate, smiling at the string of texts as soon as she looked.

"Awwww, you two are so _sweet_," Mia said, her tail swaying behind her. "I thought it would be more steamy than 'oh, I miss you why can't we be kissing' kind of stuff."

Kate snatched the phone from Mia. "If it was, all the more reason for you _not _to read it!" When Billy tried to take it back, Kate held it tight to her chest, protecting it. "I'm not going to read it. I'm just going to keep you from going off the deep end when we're _supposed _to be having a movie night!"

Billy paused just long enough to decide on his course of action and lunged to steal _Kate's _phone. Which he managed to get as Kate protested loudly in his ear. Clearly, she'd thought he was going for his own phone. "Fine. But I'm keeping yours _and answering _Nate's awkward flirting myself until you give mine back."

Kate grinned in spite of the situation, but it was pretty clear neither one of them wanted to share their texts. "Trade on three. And no more having a whole facial journey while staring at your phone."

"You're one to talk," Billy laughed. "You should see yourself when you and Nate have your telepathic flirting sessions in public."

"I'm not that _bad_," Kate defended with wide eyes, thunderstruck at the accusation, but she ended up throwing a pillow at her friends when Mia slid over to sit by Billy, nodding solemnly.

"You really are," Mia said.

* * *

Scott had been increasingly quiet around all three of his kids, and not one of them had missed it. At all. Family dinners were getting less frequent from the kids' work with the two teams, and when they did happen, they were mostly in silence. No one wanted to talk about much of anything to avoid hitting the wrong nerve.

The four of them were more or less staring at each other as Nate tried to _casually _mention that he needed a sign up time for Scott to talk to his homeroom teacher, who also happened to be his history teacher. And the more Nate tried to press the subject, the more James and Rachel were sharing a raised eyebrow look Nate's way.

_You're not subtle, Nate, _Rachel projected to him. _You're lucky Dad's distracted, or he'd bust you for matchmaking. _

_Why do you think I'm trying? _Nate replied. _Look at him. He needs the help. _

Rachel bit her lip as she watched Scott. _Okay, but your history teacher?_

_She's nice, she doesn't take crap from anybody, and she's always gushing about her nieces and nephews. Dad needs 'normal family woman' so…_

_You just want Dad distracted with Ms. Hale so you can get distracted with Kate._

_Not 'just'..._

_Uh-huh, _Rachel said, and Nate shot her a dirty look.

"Hey, Dad," James said, blatantly ignoring that his siblings were again clearly having a telepathic chat. Especially when what he had to ask would make some waves. _Especially _after Magneto's little warning. But just because Magneto didn't approve did not mean that Billy didn't want to move forward. And he'd been gently hinting to see if James had even asked about the trip. It was pretty clear that Billy was concerned that Erik was going to chase him off, but James wasn't going to let Magneto mess up what he thought was a good thing. Even if he was concerned his dad might not be as approving after the incident in the lab. "Spring break is coming up pretty soon." When Scott didn't really seem to react much, James pressed on. "So if you don't have plans already, Billy invited us to go to Genosha for the week. He wants me to officially meet his parents, and he asked me to extend the invite to you, too."

Scott looked up in obvious surprise at that. "Wait, what?"

James frowned at him as he answered slowly. "Billy invited us to Genosha for spring break. I'm asking if we can go, since I'm sure you don't want me to go alone and probably end up locked up for breathing or looking like I do."

Scott blinked at James slowly and then nodded. "Alright."

For a moment, James looked surprised at how quickly that had happened - with no further questions at _all_. He blinked a few times and glanced at his siblings. "Great, I'll let him know you're on board. Thanks."

"Absolutely," Scott said, looking back down at his dinner, though that just left the three kids sharing confused looks across the table.

_He can't wait to get rid of me, _James projected to Rachel, only halfway joking and still in shock at how easily Scott had rolled with it.

_No, that's not it, _Rachel said. _He _wants _to go to Genosha… but he's blocking me on why._

_Yeah, that can't be good, _James projected.

_He didn't mean to let me know he was thinking that way, but he was so… _pleasantly surprised _when you brought it up..._

_Doesn't make me feel any better,_ James said. _This has that whole 'hiding things' stink to it. _ He frowned to himself and then pointedly took his phone out to text Billy - just to see if Scott would say anything like he _used _to do.

"Phones at the table," Scott said after a beat too long.

"Just checking for a _pulse_," James said, then finished his text before he put the phone down.

Scott looked up and saw that all three of the kids were watching him, and he let out a small breath. "Sorry," he said. "I've just been distracted."

"So let us un-distract you," Nate said.

"Right." Scott cleared his throat. "This homeroom teacher - I thought I already went to the parent night before the semester started."

"I may or may not be failing history," Nate said.

"_Nate_." Scott was suddenly much more engaged in the conversation. "If you can't keep your grades up, you can't be on any team at all."

"Yeah, I know," Nate said. "But that's why she wanted to talk to you. That's what I was trying to tell you."

"I'm sorry; I -" Scott took a deep breath and, seeing how the kids were looking at him, decided to tell them at least _some _of it. "An old friend of mine reached out to me. I'm sure you remember Kitty. She's worried about… everything. I told her I'd … well, I'm trying to ease her mind."

"So …you're agreeing to let me go to Genosha because it's _tactical_," James said slowly.

Scott nodded. "Kitty is worried about Magneto stepping out in the open again. Historically, he's been reasonable when he's left to his own devices, but when he's on a mission like this, everything falls to the wayside and he doesn't stop unless - well, it used to be that the professor would remind him he wasn't a monster…"

"And it's got you worried enough that you totally missed the reason behind the trip," James said, raising an eyebrow. "Awesome."

"I'm sorry, James," Scott said, reaching out to put a hand on his arm. "I was listening. I think it's great that Billy invited you, and I'm glad you've found someone like him that wants you to be more involved in his life. I really am."

"Good," James said. "I'll take that double standard." But at that, Rachel telekinetically tipped his chair back and rolled her eyes at him.

Scott shook his head at them both. "Anyway, this trip will let me get a good idea of how far off the reservation Magneto is so I can help Kitty," he explained. "So, yes, I was distracted. I'm sorry."

James nodded slowly as Scott seemed to at least begin to tell them what was going on, and after a little while, he reached out to Rachel again. _First thing tomorrow, I'm going to finish the panic buttons with no metallic components. If he's this worried, we should have them for the trip - and we should be able to leave some with Kitty and the others. _

_Agreed, _Rachel replied. _And see if you can manage to drop one on him without him noticing. He's definitely holding back, and he's got that look like he and Natasha get when they're about to overhaul the security._

_You want a bug on Dad? Really? Or just a tracer? Either way, I'm going to have to make something that will go around the tech in his eyes, too._

Rachel paused and bit her lip. _Just a tracer. For now. I'd feel weird spying on him, and it does sound like he's trying to help._

_But not weird trying to pick it out of his head. _

_Oh, like I don't spy on everyone that way, _Rachel said with a shrug.

_My point is what's the difference? _

_Well… he can block me telepathically, _Rachel said. _So it's … it feels more invasive to eavesdrop anyway. _

_Alright, got it. You want to be the one to hear it, _James teased. _Like the Punisher but with eavesdropping. _

_That's not what I said! _

_I'll get the tracer, sis. Don't worry. _

Rachel let out a breath of a laugh. _Alright. And… if we still don't feel like we know enough after you get back from Genosha, then we can old-school spy._

_I'll try to put one on him when we're in Genosha, _James said. _Ready or not. _

_Might help us if we eavesdrop on Magneto… _

_I'll try to wear one when I'm stuck around him too, _James said. _I know it'll have to happen. _

_Be careful. If Dad's this worried, enough to actually put himself out there, in the field..._

_I know. This is bad. _

_Something goes wrong, reach out to me and the Avengers, please. Me first. If Dad's in trouble, or my little brother… _

_Sure you don't want to go too? _James asked. _I'll bet Billy wouldn't mind._

Rachel paused. _Maybe I will, _she said at last.

_Might help him focus if _all _of us weren't off doing missions while he's gone. _

_Very true. And he'll probably make Nate study all break, _she teased.

_Which won't be possible if Kate's around to help him. _

_He's not even really failing. He'll be fine. He knows the material. _

_Yeah, but like Dad's going to let it stand at that. This is obviously a set up. _

_Honestly? I think Dad doesn't see it. Which just means the Magneto thing is so bad…. That maybe this setup will work. Which is kind of nuts. _

_Good, _James said. _He's been unhappy for too long. _

_Fingers crossed, _Rachel agreed before she got up and smiled at Scott. "Come on, Dad. Let's have a movie night. We haven't done that in forever."

* * *

It took a solid week to schedule out all the repairs to the lab and to have the work actually done, and yet, by the time Tony's workers were moving the equipment back into James' lab, the boy still hadn't said more than a handful of words to any given Avenger about what had happened in the lab between himself and Magneto. So naturally, Tony felt like it was time to step in and make sure that his favorite of the team was actually okay. The trouble was finding the right time to do it.

As soon as the last workers cleared out and James started setting things up, Tony dove in with him, getting the more delicate equipment set up properly so they could run some tests to make sure everything was in good working order. Magneto's little hissy fit had set his work back considerably.

His computers were humming in the background rebooting and preparing for whatever might be asked of them as they started on the last of the equipment, and Tony paused when he saw a mass of ceramic circuitry. "What … are you working on here?" He turned the mass over in his hand, frowning at the vague familiarity of it, and barely getting ahead of James' explanation as he realized that it had been in the base of the 3D printer he'd made.

"As soon as the team started up, I began working on better communication systems," James said. "You knew that. You came in to yell at me after I made the panic buttons."

"Yeah but this …"

"Is a grade or two above what I came up with for the prototypes," James finished, then turned toward Tony with his arms to his sides. "I know everyone thinks I have a death wish, but I _don't_. I had no intention of facing Magneto with metallic components. That-" he gestured to the mass Tony was holding. "Is hopefully, a way to go around him so if we end up needing help you won't have to listen for the silence and the news reports."

Tony blinked and glanced at James as he continued setting up his equipment. "Is _this _what you're printing and didn't want to tell me about?"

James didn't turn around as he kept working. "No. I'm printing what it's going to be housed in." Finally he turned and gave Tony a significant look. "It's not just the new team that I want to see protected from this guy in particular. You might be freaking out about what happens to your company down the road, but what about _now_? What about Jan? Or the rest of the team? If you _know _you're going to eventually face a guy that manipulates metal, why the hell would you bring him some when you end up talking to him?"

Tony couldn't dampen the smile that was cropping up in spite of himself. "So what's your plan now?"

"Finish your armor _first_, because he will definitely come back at some point and I want to know that you have that much at least. Then I'm going to re-create everything here that I can in this new material to replace anything metallic in my lab. He had too much to work with last time. No reason to make it so easy."

"James, half the city is metal," Tony pointed out.

"I'll deal with it," James said with a grim smirk. "Don't worry. I've got a few contingencies in place. I just need to build them and test them."

"Ah. And we're back to the devious look. Good," Tony said, nodding before he set the circuits down and simply started working with James to make things go a little quicker. "You mind if I ask what your boyfriend thinks of his grandfather threatening you?"

James hedged for a moment, but kept working. "I maybe didn't give him specifics when he asked what happened."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to be the source of any discord between him and his family," James said. "And without even trying, I already am. So I'm not going to make it worse. Either Magneto will find a way to cope or Billy will get tired of me."

Tony frowned, but didn't stop working. "And if neither of those things happens?"

"It'll be one or the other," James said, then blew out a breath. "If you really need to talk though, could it be about something … _not _Magneto related?"

"Sure. As soon as Magneto stops trying to threaten you into … something. Are you ever going to tell me what he said to you?"

"No," James said quietly.

"Hey. You know that even if I didn't want you to take over for me down the road, I still want you _safe_, right?"

James was thankful Tony couldn't see the look on his face at that moment, because the idea that he was safe at this point was laughable. Chatter was up - he knew that from watching Natasha, and any promise that the tower was a safe haven was up in smoke since Magneto stuck his nose into things. It was all the more irritating when he knew that now he _couldn't _tell Billy where the real house was since that could get back to Magneto and put his family at risk. But instead of voicing any of that, he did what was quickly becoming the norm for him and did what he could to ease Tony's mind. "Yeah. Love you too."


	42. New Age of Mission Prep

**A/N - Practically An Avenger - hoo boy, was it nice to see your review, though I am sorry to say I can't answer your questions at this juncture. Stay tuned, all will be answered.**

* * *

**Chapter 42 - New Age Of Mission Prep**

* * *

The week before Spring Break, Scott found himself at Nate's high school to talk with his history teacher, Ms. Hale, while Nate was still at football practice after school. He hadn't been as active at the school as he had been when the kids were younger, so he wasn't as well-known outside of the coaching staff, who knew him well.

Ms. Hale was a short, slightly plump woman with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, but Scott was impressed as well with the way she had her classroom set up. There were reminders around the room of upcoming events, each section of the room was dedicated to a different theme… The kids had visual reminders everywhere of what they were learning and what was due.

Which should have been perfect for Nate, so Scott was already frowning to himself even as Ms. Hale looked up with a smile.

"You must be Mr. Mueller," she said.

"And you must be Ms. Hale," Scott said, shaking her outstretched hand.

She smiled and nodded. "Please, sit down," she said as she sat behind her own desk, and once Scott was seated, she didn't wait to get right to it. "I'll be honest: Nate should _not _be failing my class. He's a good student, and he's got a stellar record not just on the team but in his other classes. And I know he knows the material."

Scott frowned at that. "It's not like him to fall behind in _any _of his classes," he agreed.

"And that's why I wanted to talk to you," Ms. Hale said. "I don't think this is a problem with my class. I think this is behavioral. But he's a model student. He's only ever been in trouble here with his girlfriend, and that's typical teenage behavior."

"Tell me about it," Scott said in a sigh.

"So I want you to tell me, Mr. Mueller, why your son is failing my class for attention."

Whatever Scott had been expecting to hear from this conference, that was clearly not it. "I - what?"

"He's a star football player, he has a girlfriend who adores him, he's well-liked - the only conclusion I can come to is that he wants either my attention or yours, and considering how much trouble he gets up to with his girlfriend, I sincerely hope it's not mine he's after," Ms. Hale said, one eyebrow raised.

Scott shook his head at that. "He's never done anything like this before," he said, then paused. "Well, we have been disagreeing lately. But-" He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I'll talk to him. He knows better than this, and he knows better than to disrespect his teachers just to get my attention."

"I've seen worse, you know," Ms. Hale said gently, obviously seeing that Scott was bothered.

"Not the way I raised my kids," Scott said. He shook his head and got to his feet. "I'm sorry he decided to use your class to do this. You shouldn't have been pulled into our private argument."

"It's been my experience that if one of my kids is crying out _that much _for attention, maybe you want to try something different," Ms. Hale suggested.

"I go to all his games, and we go fishing during the summer," Scott clarified. "He gets plenty of attention. This is … something else entirely. A very old fight that's been going on since he was a kid. I'm sorry he pulled you into this."

"Mr. Mueller, if there's something I can do-"

"If you learn how to get teenagers to stop rebelling, I'll personally build you a monument," Scott said with a small smirk. "It's fine."

"Still," Ms. Hale said, her head tipped to the side as she watched Scott, "these kids - all of my kids - mean a lot to me. And Nate really is a good student. I don't want to see him throw his potential away."

"Yeah, I can see why he chose you now," Scott said, shaking his head and smiling despite himself. "We've been talking a lot about his potential and what he wants to do after graduation."

"I thought he wanted to play college ball?"

"He's still figuring a few things out," Scott said. He let out a sigh. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I promise, I'll talk to him. He shouldn't be failing your class."

Ms. Hale nodded as she got to her feet, though her smile was soft as she took his hand to shake it again. "Don't be too hard on him, Mr. Mueller. He's talked about you sometimes in class, and it's obvious he looks up to you."

All at once, Scott put it together, and then he almost laughed. "Ms. Hale," he said, smiling despite himself, "my son was trying to _talk me up_. I'm so sorry. I think he's trying to set us up." He shook his head. "I should have realized as soon as - I'm so sorry. He thinks I need to start dating again."

Ms. Hale flushed high on her cheeks. "Oh. Really?"

Scott was still smiling and shaking his head. "I really am sorry you went to all this trouble. Nate means well; he really does."

"Obviously," she said, still flushing.

"Though this is the first time he's ever pulled a stunt like this," Scott said. "He must really like you."

"Yes. Well." Ms. Hale tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"It was nice to meet you, Ms. Hale," Scott said when it was clear she was still a little flustered. "Obviously, you're an amazing teacher, or my son wouldn't go to these lengths to get us to meet."

Ms. Hale nodded, though it wasn't until Scott was at the door that she let out a breath and said, "Well, maybe I'll see you at the football games. It would be nice to meet you outside of your son's matchmaking scenario."

Scott paused and then let out a breath. "Well, we'll see what happens come the fall season," he said, and Ms. Hale frowned a bit but nodded all the same as Scott left.

* * *

"Nathaniel Christopher Charles Summers."

James and Rachel shared a look where the three of them had been sitting together working out plans for their _own _training exercises and all at once, the two of them gathered up their things, stood up and utterly abandoned Nate to their father without so much as a backward glance.

"Hi, Dad," Nate said as Scott stalked over and put a finger in the center of his chest.

"You do _not _fail your classes just to try and set me up with your teacher," Scott said. "It's disrespectful to her, and it's not the way I raised you to behave."

"I won't fail," Nate said. "I'm pulling a 68, and I can get it up to-"

"That's not the point," Scott said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You arranged for your teacher to stay after school and take time out of her day on the pretense of - she was worried there was some kind of trouble at home and that you were acting out for _attention_, you-" He shook his head. "_This is not how I raised you to behave_."

"Message received," Nate said, holding up both hands. "I won't do it again."

"Good. You're grounded," Scott said. "You're spending your break studying, and you're spending it under Ororo's watch, and she _will _decide how best to keep you busy. Is that understood?"

Nate nodded.

"Good." Scott turned on his heel to leave.

"Yeah, but did you get her number?" Nate asked.

Scott closed his eyes and tipped his head back before he turned to face Nate. "Nate, my kids are X-Men, my old friend is worried about a megalomaniac - _what _makes you think I want to date right now?"

"You _should_," Nate said. "You're all cooped up here trying to find new ways to shoot up your blood pressure." When Scott gave him a dry look, Nate shrugged. "Wouldn't kill you to try, Dad. And she's not even an Avenger or anything."

Scott stared at Nate before he shook his head. "_Unbelievable_," he said as he walked out of the door and headed for his room. "Just like your mother."

* * *

"You're sure you're alright with most of my family coming along, too?" James asked as he and Billy headed for the little movie theater in Salem Center. Scott had reached out to Wanda when Rachel and James asked if she could go along - and they'd even been sure to point out that Rachel might just be able to help him get a peek at what people on the island were thinking - not just the royal family, but the citizens too … for a more comprehensive look into what life on Genosha was like.

And although Scott was obviously hesitant at first, it was hard for him to deny the invaluable tactical advantage that could give him when weighing out how best to approach _all _of it.

What was shocking to Scott, and his kids was the fact that Wanda sounded _relieved _that Rachel would be coming too. And she'd even pressed to make sure Scott knew she wanted time alone with him to talk once he was there. But Billy didn't know any of that, and even Wanda had wanted to make sure that none of the Summers' said a word about it to Billy. Clearly, she knew something was wrong on Genosha.

"Seeing as Rachel would be the odd-woman out and stuck as the sole witness to Kate and Nate sucking face all day? Yes. She could use a little vacation from thinking she's in charge of everyone, and besides - I love your sister."

"Everyone loves Rachel," James agreed as he took a hold of Billy's hand as they walked down the sidewalk.

But aside from that, James fell quiet for most of the date. It wasn't until the movie was over and they were headed back to the Jeep before Billy decided to step up and break the ice. "You've been more quiet than usual," he said. "Is everything alright? You're not like … trying to break up with me easy, are you?"

James blinked as he turned toward him, looking alarmed. "What? Why would you - _no_." He had stopped cold and pulled Billy to a stop with him. "I thought we were okay."

"We are," Billy said, quickly stepping closer to lower his voice. "But you've been in your head a lot, and that only happened after I asked you to come meet my family. I figured you were freaking out and rethinking _all of it_."

James shook his head, frowning at that as Billy continued. "Especially when you didn't tell me that it was _just _your lab that my grandfather trashed."

"Oh." James lost all of his frown and he dropped his gaze to his hands. "It wasn't a big deal. No one got hurt. I just lost a coffee from it."

"The horrors."

"Well, Kate had bought it for me, so yeah. _Horrible._"

Billy couldn't quite stop the smile, though he still didn't like that James hadn't disclosed the whole story. "You can tell me if my grandfather is trying to bully you. He does it to everyone, but that doesn't mean I'm okay with that."

"That's just it," James said, looking up to meet his gaze. "I don't want you to have to play referee. And I don't want the misunderstandings I've had with your grandfather to screw up your relationship with him."

"He shouldn't be bothering you, though."

"I can take it," James promised, then forced a little smile. "You asked me to meet your family. You're taking me halfway across the world _to meet your family_. That's a big statement. You're not the only one falling hard. If you were, I wouldn't want to go. I _will _find way to cope with your grandfather. I'm going to have to if we keep going like we have been."

Billy grinned at him for an instant before he darted forward and kissed him. "He is a pain, and the more I'm away from him, the more I see how _much _of a pain he is. But I appreciate you trying to keep the peace with him."

"He's your family," James said. "He _can't _be entirely bad. I'm just at a disadvantage that he hated my parents."

"He'll get over it," Billy said, grinning wider. "He's going to have to if he wants me to take his place."

"That's not what I was trying to say-"

"Too bad. That's how it is," Billy decided. "He just doesn't know you yet. He _will _come around."

"No wishing for it," James warned.

"I wasn't going to," Billy swore, then smiled crookedly. "But I could."

James pulled him off the sidewalk and stole a kiss that went on right to the edge of what was permissible in public. "I can think of better uses for your concentration."

"When you start your argument like that, so can I," Billy said before the two of them redirected to the Jeep for a winding drive back to the school.

* * *

Although Toby and Scott had almost a standing appointment for breakfast together at this point, it wasn't solid and often got moved around during the week. Though this week, there was something distinctly different in the air when Toby got to the Mueller home.

"You have a lot on your mind, don't you?" Toby asked with a frown as he watched Scott turning a bottle cap over in his hands.

"You could say that," Scott said, then let out a sigh. "We're going on a trip for spring break. Nate's in trouble and is staying here with a friend of mine who will keep him away from his girlfriend and out of _more _trouble, but if you could keep an eye out… This friend of mine doesn't get out much. Physical mutation."

"Sure," Toby said, looking surprised that this was Scott's first option. "But that's not all that's bothering you, is it? Nate and Kate … that's going to be an eventuality. This … is not that."

Scott let out a slight breath. "It's going to be an eventful trip," he said simply.

"Why is that?" Toby asked, settling in as a sign to Scott that he wasn't going _anywhere _until he understood what had him looking _like that_. "For a guy going on vacation, you don't look like it's something you're looking forward to."

"It's not really a vacation," Scott said in a sigh, then clarified. "Part of it is. We're going to see James' boyfriend's parents - who are old friends of mine and also happen to be my brother's in-laws, so there will be family there."

"That … is a mouthful," Toby said. "So what's the part that's _not _going to be vacation-like?"

"They live on Genosha," Scott said.

For a moment, Toby outright paused, clearly reordering his thoughts. "These friends on Genosha …. Are they okay? You're spending vacation with - " Before Toby could finish his thought, he cut himself off. "Are the boys getting _serious _then? Is James thinking of relocating?"

"No, nothing like that," Scott said quickly. "If anything, I think Billy would want to stay _here _permanently. He doesn't get along with his grandfather all that well unless Magneto has him isolated from everyone else, and frankly, Billy's flourishing outside of his shadow. Even if his grandfather is pushing to go back to the status quo."

"Who does get along with him?" Toby couldn't help but blurt out, then quickly held up both hands. "No offense, of course. But the guy's nuts."

Scott smirked. "Yeah, that's the problem. Family dinners with Magneto in attendance."

Toby waved a hand. "Your boy can smooth it over, I'm sure. As long as the old man doesn't take issue with both of them being _boys_, anyhow."

"Actually, Magneto has taken exception to James' mutation, not the fact that they're both boys. He always thought the feral mutation was beneath him and he was sure to let James know what he thinks about him dating his _favorite _grandson already."

Toby's hand hit the table with a thud. "Wait. The guy that shouts down that all mutants are superior gets to pick and choose _himself _what's alight and what's not?"

"Why do you think we fought him all the time?" Scott pointed out. "And now that he's being more public, he's just getting worse."

"Honestly, I figured you fought with him because he was a royal pain in the rear to everyone," Toby said.

Scott shrugged. "That too. But he always had his favorites. He'd try to recruit us - regularly - and dismiss others outright."

"You mean people he'd be able to _lie _to easier," Toby said.

"Well, that - and people he thought would give him more power. I know for a fact he was disappointed we chose not to live on Genosha, especially given Nate and Rachel's potential."

"What made you decide to leave, if you don't mind my asking," Toby said. "Hard to imagine that you'd find a better, _safer _hiding place outside of there."

"The kids," Scott said. "Rachel was spending all her time trying to comfort everyone else instead of dealing with her own grief, and James was terrified of every newcomer who might come to take him or me away… Nate enjoyed it, though."

"Of course he did," Toby said, shaking his head. "He was just barely a toddler, wasn't he?" He let the conversation settle, then leaned forward. "So … what's going on then, Scott? Because I can see something is up. You're not yourself."

"I'm fine, Toby," Scott said, waving him off.

"You haven't been fine since - " Toby stopped. "... you haven't been yourself lately."

"I'm _fine_," Scott said again. "I'm busy, and this trip to Genosha and my boys and their relationships are obviously a lot to juggle, that's all."

Toby clearly wasn't buying it. "And all the other things, too, hmm? When were you going to talk to me about all the _other things_?"

Scott rubbed a spot between his eyes. "Toby…"

"They're doing good work, Scott," Toby said. "And they're making a difference already. You don't see it because you're too close, but it's not the same as it was before."

Scott sighed. "You know I'm proud of them, Toby. I _am_."

"Of course you are," Toby replied as if it wasn't even a question. "But I also know you worked hard to give them distance from that life. You're not _fine_ after spending all that time protecting them. You can't be fine to watch them go and _follow in your footsteps._"

"I can't change it either, Toby. You said yourself they're doing the right thing. I can't in good conscience ask them to _stop_."

"I wouldn't expect you to," Toby said gently. "But that still doesn't cover you. Really. How are you, and if you say 'fine' I'll throw something at your head."

"Doesn't seem like a thing a rabbi should be doing," Scott teased lightly.

"It's a good thing that I'm your friend then, and I can do those things."

Scott smirked and then shook his head. "I'm… doing what I can to support them. And that includes talking to Magneto and trying to redirect his attention _away _from them if I can."

Toby sat back on hearing that. "So it's a tactical move, then. That's what's got you so far off of yourself."

"He thinks James is animalistic and would like Kate off the team entirely - and I can't risk him _acting _on that," Scott said. "And he would."

Toby scoffed. "Did he miss the whole lecture that that Xavier did on coexistence?" Toby said. "That girl is doing what _no one _before her did on that team. And your boy? I know they're supposed to be 'secret' identities, but I have to tell you, Scott. No one has missed the way that young man can be with the little kids. Even with the mask on, it's clear who's under there. How is that 'animalistic'?"

"I'm hoping he's seen as much since I last spoke to him, but…" He sighed. "I have a friend in Genosha. She's … been keeping an eye on Magneto. As much as she can. The fact that I'm going there _myself _to try to talk him down…"

Toby's concerned expression deepened somehow. "Do your kids know all of this?"

"Not all of it," Scott said. "Part of that is just because I haven't worked out the final details for myself - and probably won't until I can talk to my contact."

"So are you working with the team or are you doing this all on your own - this … negotiations or whatever you want to call it."

"Yes and no," Scott said. "The team can't get close to him. I can. But they can give me insight."

"Okay. So. Best case scenario …. What happens from this trip?"

"I get Magneto to back down and let the new X-Men carry on our legacy without his interference."

He leaned forward further. "And worst case?"

"I stop him."

"How?"

Scott gave Toby a look that Toby had simply never seen before that showed exactly how haunted Scott still was from the loss of his team. "Whatever way is available to me."

"Scott .." Toby rubbed a hand over his eyes. "You are dealing with a lunatic. I know you have at least a dozen plans in place. You have to, but … this doesn't even sound like your usual thinking."

"This visit is as much about seeing for myself what's going on as it is about James and Billy," Scott said. "Consider it intel gathering before I can make a better plan."

Toby sighed. "Okay. I hear that line of thought. It's reasonable. But … what happens if he doesn't let the kids off the island this time out? I've heard the rumors about that place and how it's a one way street."

"Then I guess I'll have to step up the fight faster than I'd like."

"Step up and do what, though?" Toby asked. "I know you can fight, I'd be stupid to believe otherwise, but tell me you have _something _in mind. Something concrete. Not just a vague 'I'll handle it.'"

Scott was quiet for a long time before he nodded. "It's a matter of being close enough. And being underestimated without my powers. Yes, I have a few plans. I just need to be close. But those are the worst-case scenarios. I'd rather get intel and regroup - I don't want the kids in the line of fire."

"I really want you to _come back _and tell me how this goes," Toby said. "Because I know I can't do anything about it but bring Nate a pizza or two while you're gone."

"Don't worry," Scott said. "I'm not going to risk the kids. I'll get them back here."

"With you."

"Now _you're_ not sounding like yourself," Scott said.

"You're rubbing off on me," Toby defended with a shrug.

"Toby, we'll all be back before you know it, I'm sure. This really is a preliminary step, not a final one."

"I hope that's true," Toby said.

Scott nodded, then paused as he seemed to consider something. "Just… keep an eye out for the kids, please. All of them."

"That'll be hard to do when you have two of them in Genosha, but sure. I'll keep an eye out while you're _temporarily out_."

"Thanks."


	43. Welcome To Genosha

_**A/N - Welcome aboard, Bothie! I'm super glad to hear that Annie speaks to you. (we love her. So. Much.) And thanks to Practically An Avenger for the caps lock review. Those crack me up and earn some grins, though ... again. gonna have to just wait and see. Enjoy these while you can, guys ... this one is going to end up slowing down substantially so our main-stream 714 universe can catch up and we can avoid spoiling things over there, but rest assured, this story here? Has a LOT left to tell. (and at the rare moments the urge to write hits me, this is the one that seems to be calling my name.) **_

* * *

_**Chapter 43 - Welcome To Genosha**_

* * *

The day the Summers family and the Maximoff twins were set to head off to Genosha, naturally, things couldn't happen on Scott's proposed timeline. Billy was set to go, as promised, but Tommy … Tommy was in no rush for the first time in the history of _ever_. Billy and James shared a look, but kept their commentary to themselves as Tommy dragged his feet over leaving Mia behind.

Mia wasn't making it any easier, either. She was soaking up the attention as Tommy made it clear that he'd rather stay in Westchester. With her. And even if Ororo had been irritated with him for how fast the two of them were moving, she had to admit … the way he treated Mia was _awfully _sweet.

"You're going to miss your flight," Mia said quietly, though James heard her loud and clear from the other side of the foyer.

"Hard to do when it's a private plane," Tommy argued, then stole another kiss. He looked over his shoulder at the group waiting for him. James was pointedly looking between his shoes and Billy, refusing to look their way while Billy did his best to try and give him some little bit of privacy. Rachel, however was openly smiling and not even trying to hide that she was telepathically eavesdropping.

Scott however, didn't look amused - even if Ororo seemed to be enjoying it.

"Your brother is a lot sweeter than he lets on," Rachel said quietly to Billy as Mia broke into a giggle and Tommy _finally _zipped over.

"Don't tell anyone," Billy replied, then took James' hand as they headed for the waiting jet.

"Are you going to be able to _survive _a week away from your sweetheart?" Rachel teased as she walked next to Tommy.

"Definitely not," Tommy said, then smirked crookedly to himself. "But … I don't really _have _to."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rachel asked, unable to not smile along with him.

"Nothing," Tommy replied, resolutely focusing on something _else _since he did like to keep his secrets and the nosy telepath thing was _so _overplayed. If he could keep a few things to himself - or better yet, he thought - _think _too fast for Rachel to track - then all the better for him. In the meantime, he had a whole flight to suffer through listening to his brother flirt. Even if he was pretty sure Billy would restrain himself while he was so closely in earshot of _Scott_.

* * *

Genosha was somehow both exactly what the Summers family had expected to see - and not at all what they'd expected.

It was just as big and imposing as they'd assumed it would be, but it also had a whole population full of mutants out in the open like Alex had told them about when he would come to visit. There were plenty of physically mutated people, since they were more likely to hide away on an island than anyone else.

People flying, powers flashing… it was what Magneto had promised. Except for the big metal walls and the feeling of unease that Rachel could sense as soon as they arrived. That feeling had her taking an unconscious step closer to Scott. She hadn't expected the people on Genosha to feel the same way the people in Westchester did - separated from the world - but it was also clear that they were just as worried about being a target as the people at the school. Because Magneto was out in public, threats on Genosha seemed inevitable, and then where would these people go when they had literally run away to a far-flung island to find peace?

_You alright? _Scott projected to her. He seemed hyper-aware of her and James now, and she saw him walking ahead of them both almost like he was acting as a shield. She didn't think it was a conscious decision, either.

_I'm alright, _she promised. _Everyone seems a little edgy. A lot of people think that Magneto stepping out and causing trouble is going to make them a target._

_They're not wrong, _was Scott's simple response, though before he could say anything more, Magneto himself met them there, along with Wanda, who rushed over to both of her boys with a broad smile to wrap them in hugs while Vision, not far behind her, asked them about how they liked school and if they'd made any friends.

"Yeah, have you met Billy's boyfriend?" Tommy said. "Because you should. My girlfriend couldn't come because Storm said she has to help prep for midterms, in case anyone was wondering."

"Nice to meet you," James said as he offered Vision his hand to shake, then managed to give Erik a tight smile. "James Howlett - the second."

"Vision," he replied, smiling as he took James' hand. "You look just like your father."

"Thank you," James replied with a little smile that he obviously meant. And Scott was watching him more carefully because of it.

"I promised I'd show him around," Billy put in as he took a hold of James' arm and pulled him away from Vision. "We'll sit down for dinner together later as a family, okay?"

Wanda smirked. "Just be back in time-"

"Thanks, Mom!" Billy said, grinning as he pulled James with him to head off, even with Erik glaring after them.

Scott shook his head before he gave Wanda a warmer smile - and she beat him to the hug. "It's been a long time," he said.

"Too long, if you ask me," Wanda said. "I kept hoping you'd come back and stay for a while. I'm so glad you're here. All of you."

"Hey, you've seen my kids. The youngest is still at home - he's the quarterback and he's failing history, so he's grounded," Scott said with a smirk. "I couldn't take them away from the friends they've made."

"Nate looks just like you, Scott," Wanda said. "I saw him in Westchester with that pretty little girlfriend of his. You've got trouble on your hands, you know."

"Oh, I know it," Scott said, shaking his head. "And he's got his mother's powers. So you can imagine how much trouble I'm keeping up with."

"You have to be getting a headache constantly just to keep your thoughts your own," she laughed. "Maybe we can send you home with one of father's helmets so you can get a break."

He couldn't help but smile for that one. "Hey, I was married to the most powerful telepath in the world. I know how to keep people out if I want. Rachel's not as powerful as her mother was."

"Speaking of," Wanda said, turning to Rachel. "You are simply _stunning_, Rachel."

Rachel blushed. "Thanks," she said. "I get that a lot at school from the old X-Men."

"Are you at the school with my boys then?" Wanda asked. "It's been so long I can't remember how old everyone is anymore."

"Oh, I graduated," Rachel said. "I'm an Avenger now."

Wanda lit up. "You _are_? That's wonderful!"

Rachel resisted the urge to look over her shoulder at Scott. "Yeah, it took some convincing, but I love it."

"I loved my time on the team," Wanda said. "They really are the best friends you'll ever make."

"Well, there aren't too many my age that I'm not either related to or - well, probably going to be related to with the way Nate and Kate are going."

"Billy said they were given an invitation to join up," Wanda said. "It sounded like they were expanding their younger roster."

Rachel nodded with a smile. "Tony's still got everyone in training, but I wouldn't be surprised if Steve tells him to stop hemming and hawing and just let them be _official_."

"Tony means well," Wanda said, "But he really thinks he runs everything. All the time. Everywhere."

"When we all know Jan's really in charge," Rachel said with a crooked grin. "Especially since she and Tony got married."

"That was a very long tapdance," Wanda said.

"Well, she dated Dad first," Rachel admitted, dropping her voice to a whisper.

Wanda turned to look at Scott, one eyebrow raised. "What happened? Jan's wonderful."

"Jan got hurt," Rachel said, entirely serious now as she kept her voice down. "And Dad _can't _lose anyone."

Wanda let her shoulders drop as she made her way over to give Rachel a little hug too. "You're such a wonderful daughter."

Rachel smiled as she returned the hug. "I was raised right."

"You sure were," Wanda agreed with a smile. "So … why don't you tell me about your brothers?"

"Do you want dirt on the one dating Billy or are you just asking generally?" Rachel asked with a troublemaking sparkle in her gaze that was so much like Jean's that Wanda had to laugh.

"I'm asking about both, but I'll take dirt too," Wanda laughed. "Billy's been very _vague _about all of it. I wasn't even sure of who he was seeing until he mentioned wanting to bring him here."

Rachel linked arms with Wanda. "Well, I think he's just trying to protect James. Largely because James has never dated a boy before. But Billy really is _so _sweet." Rachel was sure to play up how much Billy was liked, even if she wasn't sure yet if he was _trustworthy_.

"He really is," Wanda agreed. "But I am incredibly biased."

"You're supposed to be. I bet if you ask Dad anything about us, you'll get sunshine and optimism."

"Really? Sunshine and optimism from Cyclops? I can't wait to hear it," Wanda laughed.

"Well, just for _us_," Rachel clarified. "And only to other people. We definitely still get the 'how dare you break the rules' side of things, but to everyone else, Dad's all 'my kids are the world' and … you know how he is."

"He's a darling," Wanda said, smiling over at Scott as she led Rachel ahead of the others.

"High praise," Erik said to Scott as the two of them fell back a bit. Vision had of course, stuck to Tommy and was quietly quizzing him on all the trouble he'd been causing.

"My kids are biased," Scott said simply. "They know where they stand with me."

Erik nodded slowly. "We do so much to try to protect them."

"That's all I've been doing. You see how much they look like us."

"Yes, I've seen already how much they look like you," Erik said. "I'm honestly surprised that you let them step out of the house in those uniforms."

Scott stopped walking and turned on his heel to face Erik. "That," he said, "was _your_ fault."

"Excuse me," Erik said, sounding perfectly insulted.

"You show up talking about how mutants need a voice, and my kids - who were raised on stories of the X-Men and what we _really _believed - took you up on it," Scott said, drawing himself up with his chin tipped up. "You wanted more mutants out in the open? Well, there they are. Fighting for what they believe. I hope you're happy."

"Perhaps they simply need someone to guide them," Erik said in a thoughtful tone, even if he'd been carefully choosing the words to use in this conversation for _months_. "Someone to keep a close eye on them and guide them."

"Right now, what they _need _is to stay small," Scott said. "They're still learning _how _to be X-Men. It's only been a few months." He frowned Erik's way. "I agreed to come here so I could get the chance to tell you to be _careful _with my kids. I can't lose them."

"I'm not sure why you'd think that I would harm them," Erik said. "I haven't had any trouble with them yet."

"You mean besides that display in my son's lab," Scott said dryly.

Erik scoffed, waving one hand dismissively. "The boy was unharmed. I was under the impression that it was his idea to keep things _quiet_ and I have yet to see _anything _that would make me believe that the boy isn't simply stringing young William along. As I understand it, there hasn't been an interest in other young men. The circumstances seem questionable at best. Especially considering his _background._"

"I raised him myself," Scott said with narrowed eyes. "Not only to have _respect _for himself and others but to look out for people around him." He tipped his chin up. "Regardless of _their_ backgrounds, _Magneto_."

"I'd imagine that that may be the trouble, considering who he _is _close to. The fact that you still trust that elitist group of humans will never be something that I can understand. Their little team is a bit of a joke don't you think? Compared to what the X-Men used to be?"

"They're just helping people where they can. Stopping hate crimes, stepping in when they see the need. They're not reaching any higher yet because I _asked _them not to go too big too fast," Scott said. "They'll stay out of your way as long as _you _keep your attention on what's actually important. The bigger fish to fry."

"And that applies to all of them?" Erik asked. "I won't pretend like I'm not concerned that there might be one or two that are more headstrong and reckless."

"They're _kids_," Scott said. "They're teenagers. I have to get onto Nate for getting caught with his girlfriend behind the bleachers still. They're not adults, Erik. They make dumb decisions. And I came here to ask you to _let _them."

"Yes, I heard you," Erik said. "I'm simply concerned for them, and the company they each chose to keep, that's all." He smiled more warmly. "We're on the same side, Scott."

Scott watched Erik for a long moment and then relaxed just slightly. "You know there's nothing I wouldn't do for them, don't you? I'm just trying to keep them from making my mistakes."

"Yes, And I feel the same way," Erik said. "The twins have been here from the moment of their birth. Seeing them out in the world that hates and fears them isn't something I was prepared to deal with."

Scott nodded. "I know," he said. "I hate it too."

"So tell me," Erik said. "Is it true that the only training they've received was Avenger's approved?"

Scott nodded, though he knew what Erik was getting at already since he disapproved of Kate. "They started out on the Avengers, since we never restarted the X-Men," he explained. He held up a hand before Erik could say anything. "And I'll thank you to stop telling the world we ran away. Some of us never recovered, and some of us still don't have any power." He gestured to his face and the three long scars. "Some of us can only keep our families safe."

"As much as I sympathize with you, Scott, the fact remains… the X-Men _did _run away."

"The X-Men died with the professor," Scott said flatly.

"Then let's hope that you're wrong about that," Erik said. "Especially since both of my grandsons are wearing that badge now and the two of them are meant to be the future leaders of Genosha. The mutants of the world _need _them to be safe."

Scott let out a breath and ran a hand over his face. "Erik," he said slowly, "we can't let _any _of them get hit. Not like what happened before."

"Scott, I can't protect anyone that isn't on this island."

"Then why am I seeing you on the news bashing governments and stirring up trouble?" Scott shot back.

"I'm not _stirring up trouble_," Erik said defensively. "I'm putting the call out to make it _right_."

"And look what happened!" Scott said, finally raising his voice. "You resurrected a team with a price on their heads for _existing _just by invoking our legacy!"

"If you and Storm hadn't decided that cowardice was the way to allow young people to survive, then I wouldn't have been forced to defend my old friend's _dream_."

"I'm not the one who restarted the school!" Scott shot back.

"No, but you are the one that raised the three that are at the _center _of the X-Men's resurrection."

"I raised them on the professor's dream - of _course _they responded to it-"

"And you're somehow surprised that they too said you were wrong to hide?"

"I can't lose them!" Scott shouted, though as soon as he said it, he blinked and let his shoulders drop. "They're still kids. I _can't _lose them to the badge."

Erik was quiet for a long moment. "If they'll follow my lead, I can _protect _them."

"They won't even follow mine; I doubt that's going to happen," Scott said with a hollow laugh.

"You'll have to convince them," Erik said.

Scott shook his head, looking up at the ceiling as he considered his options. "I don't know that they'd be willing to follow anyone but themselves right now," he said. "But they're still young, and the team is still new… it's possible."

"You work on your children, and I'll work on mine," Erik said with what passed for a warm smile.

This time, it was Scott's turn to be quiet for a long moment. "Just promise me something," he said slowly. "If you're about to kick a hornet's nest - the MRD, government programs, whatever - _tell me _so I can keep them from getting caught up in something they're not ready to handle. Please."

Erik frowned but watched Scott for a long time before he finally nodded. "If nothing else, then to keep the twins safe. Yes."

Scott looked visibly relieved. "Alright," he said.

"We'll need to talk about _that _little issue too, though," Erik said.

"I can't help you with that," Scott said. "I haven't been an X-Man in years, and I lost my powers." He smiled ruefully.

"I meant your _son_," Erik said.

"James knows the stories," Scott said. "He knows what his parents went through, and he knows what to look out for."

"But does he know that someone like those that used his parents would not hesitate to pick up _Billy_ if they couldn't get to James directly?"

"I gave all three of them a warning about protecting anyone they're close to as soon as they were old enough to understand it," Scott said.

"_Reinforce it_. That family naturally draws down more trouble than any other I've seen."

"He's _my_ son, Erik."

"So you keep saying, as if your influence alone would be enough to go against the nature of the beasts."

"Don't talk about my family that way," Scott said sharply. "James is one of the smartest and kindest people I have ever met. Bar none."

Erik let out a patient sigh. "Old prejudices." He barely broke stride as he started off again. "And I'm not the only one who feels that way, or you wouldn't have been hiding them so carefully for so long. If something were to change with the boy - _no one _would be able to say you hadn't done all you could."

"I didn't come here to listen to you insult my friends' memory either," Scott said, his tone rising. "I came here because, and I can't stress this enough, our boys _like _each other. Genuinely. I'm here for their sake, not your old prejudices."

Erik watched him for a long moment. "And that in itself could be a liability for both of them if the wrong person saw that to be true."

"I already told you that I'll talk to him," Scott promised. "And I'll keep an eye on things myself. You know I will. I'm _not _going to let anything happen to those kids. Mine or yours. That's just not happening, even if I have to come out and fight myself." He shook his head. "Do you think I want them to end up like my team?"

"I think, Cyclops, that in some cases, it's unavoidable."

"I think, _Magneto_, that if you're willing to accept that, you're not trying hard enough," Scott shot back. "The only one of my kids that I've had issues with on relationships is Rachel, and that's because she looks and acts so much like Jean. James, out of all of my kids, has been the most cautious. Careful. Protective."

Erik narrowed his eyes at that. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"You already have," Scott said. "Or did you miss that he was standing up for _me _because you were so caught up in the fact that he was standing up _to _you?"

"To be honest, he looks so much like his father, I didn't quite pay attention to what his _trigger _was."

"He'll defend Billy just as sharply as he defended me. _He's _not the one I'm worried about," Scott said. He shook his head. "You're slipping. Years ago, you would have known exactly what buttons you pushed so you could push them again and make Logan angry."

"Lets hope things resolve so I don't need to start looking on this one."

"You won't have to if you stay away from them," Scott shot back, though he was having trouble holding himself back when he knew Erik had already threatened James. His plan was to let Erik think he was vulnerable, but after years of trying to keep the kids safe, standing in front of the man who threatened them was itself an act of resolve. "I told you. They're staying small-time. Stop picking fights with my kids. You want to use the professor's name? Do some real good and fight the fights they're not ready for."

"We'll discuss this again later," Erik said dismissively. "Now, I'm sure you must be tired."

Scott let out a breath of a laugh. "I'm not too old to go a few rounds with you," he said. "But we'll be here for the week. I guess we can come back to it if you need the time to think it over." He smirked and looked around. "Are Kitty and Bobby still here? I haven't seen them since the kids were in elementary school…"

"Yes, they're around here somewhere," Erik said with a wave. "Wanda is more likely to be able to tell you where."

"I'm surprised you haven't asked them to join your crusade," Scott said dryly.

"I haven't asked any of the citizens here to leave for anything that isn't centered on Genosha."

Scott raised an eyebrow at that and then smiled lightly. "You know, that actually makes me feel better? Knowing you aren't raising an army?" He shook his head before he turned away again. "Guess things have changed. Nice to know Alex wasn't blowing smoke."

"I've become a bit more protective of those my daughters have chosen to marry," Erik admitted.

"Yeah. I know the feeling. Billy's been over for dinner every weekend, and Kate comes over all the time. The way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if they get married young like Jean and I did."

"Let's hope _not_," Erik said.

Scott laughed. "Hey, can't stop love. Or didn't you know that?"

"It's a bit early to be calling it that," Erik bristled.

"You haven't seen the look on Nate's face." Scott waved a hand in his own direction. "I saw it in the mirror often enough. I know I'm sunk."

"Scott, please," Erik said.

Scott smirked and held up both hands. "Okay, okay. I'll confine our conversations to 'please don't get my kids killed' and 'yes, I'll look out for yours too'."

Erik made a tutting noise as he changed direction - by lifting off the ground. "Good luck finding your brother, Scott."

Scott chuckled and shook his head, though it didn't take him long to catch up to Wanda and the others on their tour, not when he just had to project to Rachel then follow her mental signature. "Can I ask you where Kitty is? Or Bobby? I was hoping to say hello while we were here."

"Of course," Wanda said, smiling up at him. "They were down by the courtyard a little while before you came. If they're not there, I'll send someone to find them."

"Thanks, Wanda," Scott said with a smile, heading down to the courtyard with his hands in his pockets.

Sure enough, Kitty and Bobby were both still in the courtyard, milling around and talking to each other - though when Kitty saw Scott, she nearly knocked him over with a running start and a grinning hug.

"Hey, Kitty," Scott said, shaking his head as he caught her.

"I can't believe I haven't seen you _in person _in so long," Kitty said, snuggling in and wearing a grin. "I've missed you!"

"It's good to see you too," Scott said. "Even if I got invited here because my son is dating Magneto's grandson," he added, shaking his head at the situation.

"That … so it sounded a lot weirder than it looked," Kitty said. "They were through here a little while ago and I have to admit .. they're pretty cute together."

"I know," Scott said. "Wait until you see Nate and his girlfriend."

"It's just nice to see them _happy._ I was so worried for all of you for so long … now it doesn't seem like it was necessary."

Scott nodded. "That's the whole point, right? Why do you think I've been gone so long? A whole childhood and high school parade of hanging on by my fingernails with these kids. I had Luke Cage breathing down my neck at one point and Spider-Man having anxiety attacks after that. It's been … busy."

"So they're wearing you down is what you're saying," Bobby said, smirking to himself.

"Hey, James has his parents' powers and K's sense of humor," Scott said. "Rachel has the Phoenix… and Nate is dating the cheer captain."

"So the worst possible trouble in every scenario?" Bobby said as he crossed the distance and bumped Kitty out of the way to wrap Scott up - more emotional than he'd let on before as he _latched _on to Scott.

"Woah." Scott took a step back and then hugged Bobby back just as tightly. "Hey, you okay?"

"I've missed you way more than should be possible."

"Sorry about that," Scott said.

"So on a scale of one to 'let's break out of this jail', how up to trouble are you?"

Scott smirked. "Where on that scale does 'winning Magneto's trust' fall?" he asked, dropping his voice at that.

"Seriously?" Bobby asked, wide-eyed. "Like … six points past the jail cell."

"Kitty said you guys were having problems," Scott said.

"Yeah, I'm not sure if it's senility or a late-life crisis."

Scott let out a breath. "How bad is it, Bobby?" he asked. "I know he's mad that everyone on the mainland is hiding their powers, but that's almost pedestrian for him."

"Yeah, well - the news from around the world isn't exactly all reaching the States then," Bobby said. "He's got spies in Latveria and a few other tiny little evil hell holes that are actually walking the line between detainment camps and open calls for no mutants."

"I haven't heard about anything like that," Scott said with a frown. "Things aren't ideal Stateside, but the Avengers have been shutting down anything that crosses the line into actual violence. They've been doing that around the world, too."

"Well, they've been missing a few spots. And the ones they've been missing are pretty substantial."

Scott let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes. "That would definitely get him angry. I'll tell the team, see if Natasha can dig into the worst places. She's usually on top of it, but she just had a little girl… and she's been busy digging into all the weapons programs watching the kids trying to defund them or distract them."

"Didn't know you kept so _close_," Kitty teased.

"Hey, Rachel joined the Avengers after she graduated, so we're in close contact. And, they helped me with the kids when a few people came looking for them. It hasn't been totally smooth sailing," Scott said.

"I thought Jean burned out all the trouble," Bobby said.

"She did. But you can't kill an idea," Scott said in a sigh.

"So okay. We can cover that later," Bobby told him. "How about a nice, private walk on the beach?"

"After you," Scott said, more than a little surprised that _Bobby_ was being paranoid and careful - though that more than anything else spoke to how things really were on Genosha.

Bobby was quiet for a long while, even after they were on the beach. In fact, they'd walked until the main spires of the city were starting to look a little foggy from how far they were from it. "So. This can't keep going," Bobby said.

Scott turned Bobby's way. "Kitty said things were bad here, but … I don't think I've ever seen you get _jumpy_, Bobby."

"Yeah, well, spend years on the island of King Magneto and things change."

"You know you'd have been more than welcome with me or Ororo," Scott pointed out.

"That … would have required being allowed to _leave_," Bobby said. "And I've been caught at least half a dozen times trying to get out."

Scott frowned hard at that and put a hand on Bobby's shoulder, looking his friend over a little better. "Are you alright? I had no idea."

"Well of course you didn't," Bobby said. "Genosha _isn't _a vacation destination."

"That and Alex has come to see us a few times," Scott said.

"Well that's a little different," he replied. "Royal family has special privileges."

"Yeah, I'm getting that idea," Scott said, frowning the more he heard. "What about the rest of the island? The people who weren't X-Men, I mean."

"Yeah, they don't get to go anywhere either," Kitty said. "Bobby's right. This is like … the Hotel California for mutant kind."

"It must be bad if you're the one making jokes and Bobby's being paranoid," Scott said.

"Desperate times, buddy," Bobby said.

Scott shook his head, looking out at the beach as he thought it over - and caught sight of Billy obviously showing off for James with a few magically created waves that they could surf that took them on an almost-rollercoaster of water. He shook his head to himself and then turned back to his old teammates. "So. I think I can get close to him. I just wanted to be sure…" He let out a breath. "I want to be sure he's not salvageable. That's what the professor would do."

"Alright, but the professor didn't have to live with him for this long," Bobby said. "He won't listen to reason."

"I'm starting to get that idea," Scott said. "I'm still going to try - but that's partly because he expects that from me. He won't trust me if I don't disagree with him sometimes." He paused. "But I can get close. I know I can."

"So … is this you coming out of retirement?" Bobby asked cautiously. "Because if it's not you, I'm afraid we might have to call in _Alpha Flight_, and I'm pretty sure we'd rather just die of embarrassment first."

Scott scoffed. "We're not calling in Alpha Flight," he said. He held up a hand. "I'm not coming out of retirement. I'm just … helping some old friends."

"Well … we could ask the X-Men," Kitty said, doing her best to keep a poker face.

"We're _not _involving the kids in this," Scott said. "You and I both know Magneto is dangerous. We keep this between us."

"Yeah, well … don't be surprised if you find him shadowing Billy and his _sweetheart_ while you're here."

"Yeah, I got that impression," Scott said with a sigh. "He's not happy about their relationship. He never did like Logan."

"I'm sure he thinks it's spiteful," Bobby added.

"Yeah, the universe has a way of rewarding stupidity," Scott said dryly.

"This has to be something awesome then," Kitty said. "What act of stupidity do you think he's paying for now?"

"Everything he ever said to Logan," Scott said. "Every last insult."

Kitty looked openly surprised by Scott's answer. "Well if that's the case, we ought to start planning the wedding because there is no way this is all he gets if it's for all _that_."

"We're hand-delivering karma for the rest of it," Scott pointed out, then let out a breath and looked more serious. "I'm going to start working on non-metallic weapons. Kitty, I need you to keep an eye on things and help me get on his good side. Don't hide that we're talking, either. Act concerned. I'm banking on him treating me like a desperate father trying to protect his kids, so if he thinks he can manipulate me, all the better."

"That ought to be an easy sell, all things considered," Kitty pointed out. "Since that has been exactly what you've been since you disappeared."

"Hey, all lies have truth in them," Scott pointed out. "But the point is: he doesn't trust you or he would let you leave the island or ask you to run missions with him. We can use that too."

"Alright," Kitty said with a nod. "We'll hold up our end. I know I don't have to tell you to play up his paranoia when he's already so wound up."

Scott nodded. "I'm trying to steer his paranoia away from my kids and onto better targets. I don't know if I can get close enough to stop him from lashing out just yet, and I'd rather he go after detainment camps than teenagers."

"That'll be fun since he's been _careful _about ticking off Latveria."

"Birds of a feather," Scott said dryly.

"More or less," Bobby agreed.

Scott let out a breath and then pulled Bobby into a hug. "Don't worry," he said. "We take care of each other, right?"

"We used to," Bobby said. "I'd like to again."

"When this is all over, come to Westchester."

"Is that a promise?"

"Hey, Warren and Hank would love to see you too," Scott said.

"So when this is over, you, me, and them can go down to Harry's, huh?"

"We'll see," Scott said. "You may be busy convincing my brother and Lorna to step up here since I'm assuming Wanda doesn't want to mess with it. If she did, Erik wouldn't be trying to groom Billy for the job - and he _is _too young to handle that. There's a whole island of people that will still need this place standing as a haven, and I'm sure Erik's going to knock me around when this does go down." He smirked. "This will be the one time you'll be less concussed and more eloquent."

"I'm still gonna need that root beer with you guys," Bobby said. "Never thought I'd miss the greasy burgers there …"

"The guys'll be thrilled."

"Hey. Not just them," Bobby said, poking him in the chest. "I've only been out of jail for a few months. I still need some hope here."

Scott let out a breath and then gave Bobby a tired smile. "Like I said, we'll see what happens. But sure, yeah. Harry's sounds good."

"Alright," Bobby said, though he wasn't really smiling at him. "I'm gonna hold you to that, Scott."

Scott nodded. "I'm going to go break up the love fest before James ends up egging Billy into something that will get us kicked off the island early."

"That might be what Billy's angling for," Kitty pointed out.

"He wanted James to meet his family."

"He wanted James to meet his _parents_," Kitty said. "From what I heard from Wanda, I wouldn't be surprised if the reason this got started between them was because Billy saw James yelling at Erik."

"You would have been proud," Scott said with a smirk. "He had every bit of Logan's anger - but K's creative eloquence."

"Oh man. How'd the old man take it?"

"Backed off fast," Scott said, looking proud.

"Nice," Bobby said, nodding his head.

"Yeah, those kids are something else," Scott said. "You'd be proud. I think they have a real shot at living up to the dream." He paused. "Not that they don't scare the hell out of me doing it."

"Then they're just like their folks, right?" Kitty said. "And the Dad that's been taking care of them the whole time."

"I raised them with stories of the professor's dream. I really shouldn't be surprised," Scott admitted, his gaze on the boys in the waves. He cleared his throat. "Anyway. I'll stay in touch. You just find me a way through Magneto's defenses once I'm in."

"That I can do," Kitty said. "We'll just need to stay in contact so I can disable everything. It's not the most advanced thing in the world, but it is maddeningly irritating."

"Yeah, but you'll handle it," Scott said, smirking her way.

"Oh sure, no problem," Kitty agreed, though her expression fell when Scott waved and headed to catch up with the boys.

"So," Bobby said over her shoulder, "you caught that too, right?"

"Oh yeah," she said, nodding along.

"Do we call it off?" he asked. "I mean, it's _Scott_ talking like that…"

Kitty sighed. "I think … we keep a close watch on him. Do everything we can to make sure this doesn't turn out as a disaster."

"Good, because that…"

"Maybe we should talk to Rachel," Kitty said. "She could at least confirm if it's him being … him, or if it's something … else."

"Yeah." Bobby shook his head. "We never should've busted up the team."

"That wasn't really our call," Kitty pointed out.

"You could've run it," Bobby said with a smirk.

"Probably should have," she agreed. "I just thought he'd recover from it better than the rest of us."

"Hey, it took _me _a while to stop feeling like crap," Bobby pointed out. "I was part of the leadup to Logan snapping, remember?"

"So was he," Kitty said.

"Yeah. And then everything with Jean too. And we still don't know what happened to Charles…" Bobby rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. I feel like we shouldn't be surprised."

"He just always seemed like he had it together the most."

"We'll just have to have his back until he _gets _it back, right?" Bobby said. "That's what we do." He smirked. "Looks like we're X-Men again, Kitty."

"Some of us never really stopped, popsicle."


	44. Two Princes

**A/N - Practically An Avenger, please don't ever change. I can't read that section now without thinking of your commentary. Thank you for that. Omg.**

* * *

**Chapter 44: Two Princes**

* * *

While Billy was out cavorting in the waves, Tommy was soaking up the hundreds of questions from Wanda and Vision on how things were _really _going in Westchester. It's not that his parents hadn't been in touch - they had been. It was more that they wanted to hear how he was handling things on his own when they knew that he was pushing someone _else's _rules.

And maybe, they were a little curious on how he'd gotten into the younger Avenger's roster _so quickly_. They were pleased, of course, but … how the twins were presenting themselves meant a lot to both Wanda and Vision. They knew that Billy had been in close contact with Erik, right up until a few weeks before Spring Break, when he suddenly seemed too busy to answer Erik's calls. And that hadn't gone over too well with the old man, even if Wanda was secretly relieved.

She couldn't help but run her hand over Tommy's hair as he answered his father's questions and told them all about how things were going … not so much about his studies, but slowly, and mostly unintentionally letting them know that he … really was jealous that he couldn't find a way to get Mia to come with, too. Not as a 'Billy's boyfriend is here too' kind of thing, but because without being as overt about things as Billy was, Tommy was falling hard for the charming little Elf that lived in Westchester.

So it was good that Vision had more questions than Wanda - if for no other reason than she was stunned at how clearly smitten Tommy was - and how strikingly like Pietro he could be. Particularly when it involved matters of the heart. He kept his hand close, but it was _so obvious_ to her that he was just as deeply head over heels as Billy was. It made her miss her twin in a way that made her chest ache, though that could also be from how bittersweet it was to see both of her boys growing up so quickly.

When Wanda seemed to lose her voice entirely, and the questions dried up from Vision, Tommy realized how much he'd actually said, which stopped him entirely. "So. I ah … I think I need a little fresh air," Tommy decided, nodding to himself as he stepped back from his parents.

"Do you think you can tell your brother that we'll be gathering up for dinner at seven?" Wanda said, even as Tommy was jogging backwards away from them.

Tommy held up his phone and waggled it. "Just text him, I don't want to _walk in _on anything." He grinned at his mother, who was already shaking her head an instant before Tommy was off like a shot. He ran to the northernmost point of Genosha before he glanced up at the guard on duty, winked theatrically with a two fingered salute and then took off at top speed due west.

It was stupid, he was sure, to even attempt the trans-Atlantic run without checking a few things first, but honestly … if he had to sit there for much longer _talking _and not _doing_, he was going to lose his mind anyhow. Why not challenge himself with rough seas if that was the case? The little stretch of Indian Ocean would be a fair warmup.

As luck would have it, it was pretty smooth for him, though. The big, rolling swells mid-sea were enough to get Tommy just a bit seasick, but at the speed he was travelling, getting soaked was a bigger concern as he could almost skip the tops of the waves more often than not. He realized just about the time that he saw land again that it _might not _have been the best idea to run across the Atlantic. Especially since he wasn't nearly as fast _swimming _as he was running.

_I'm going to make sure I pick up a ziplock when I get to Westchester,_ Tommy thought to himself, then winced as he made landfall from the difference in impact. But now that he was on more predictable turf … he could really let loose. _And hope that Billy has his cell phone on if I go in the water._

* * *

Mia, meanwhile had been trying to get into the spirit of Spring Break like her family _usually _did. She'd spent all day in the greenhouses with her mother as they tended to tender newly sprouted life for the massive garden they had planned out. Every year, the vegetable patch seemed to get larger and larger - well beyond what was required for the populace of the school. Especially when So many teenagers refused to _eat _their vegetables.

Not that it slowed Ororo down one bit. She loved a challenge, and she loved adding new varieties to try and soothe those from far-different cultures. Which was how Mia found herself talking to a patch of shiso. It was a particularly pretty strain of Japanese lettuce - or close to lettuce as far as Mia could tell. Already the leaves were a brilliant almost neon green that looked far more cheerful than most of the spindly seedlings around the greenhouse. She picked the biggest leaves off to carry inside.

Betsy was having an emotional sort of day and had insisted on the chef preparing a full Japanese meal for the following day, which, as she'd been told by an almost teary-eyed Betsy, required fresh shiso.

Mia just _knew _there was a story behind her tears, but now was not the time to ask. She didn't want to get emotionally invested in something that she couldn't relate to. Not when she just wanted to drop onto her bed and sulk. It was late, after all. And she'd been talking to sprouts all. Morning. long. But when she got up to her room - with streaks of dirt smudged across her jeans, she positively squeaked when she saw that her room wasn't empty.

"Hey. You think this will keep the water out if I fall in on the way home?" Tommy asked, holding up a freezer bag. He was wind-whipped, as usual, grinning crookedly, and reclined on her bed.

"Oh my God, you're insane," Mia giggled, then teleported over to steal a kiss. "Why do you need it to be waterproof?"

"I think there might be a storm on the way back. Waves were kinda big in the middle. I had to slow down so I didn't run _through _them."

"You're a maniac," Mia said as she curled up next to him, perfectly happy to steal whatever time she could for a few moments. "How long are you here?"

Tommy picked up his head to look at the clock. "Um … I've got a _little _time. I have to be back in time for dinner."

Mia looked out of her window.. "You're not really going to run in the dark are you?"

"It's … not that long of a run," Tommy defended. "So … not really, no. Genosha's only eight hours ahead. I just wanted to keep my track record up and give you a kiss goodnight before it did get too dark out to avoid hitting container ships"

Mia grinned wider. "How long did it take you to run here?"

Timmy shrugged, doing his best to look nonchalant in his answer. "Well … I couldn't go top speed over the oceans … and there was a whole area through Africa that really needs to be taken slow."

"To keep from falling off some tall, beautiful cliff?"

"Well … that and to keep from running face first into an Elephant."

Mia laughed delightedly then clapped her hand over her mouth, though Tommy was smiling wider at her as she tried to keep her amusement to a reasonable decibel level. Especially since it _was _her bed time. "Tell me that happened."

Tommy grinned wider and pulled her closer to steal another long kiss - and then tell her exactly how his first trip had gone. "I promise I'll time myself when I go back."

"Just don't fall in the ocean," Mia said. The two of them got comfortable again, perfectly content to steal away in Mia's room for a while.

* * *

"You can't stay at the tower," Warren said to Nate, then sighed heavily. It was a nice change of pace to step out of Westchester for a little while, but he somehow wasn't expecting his old friend's son to be quite so _very little _like what he remembered Scott to be as a teenager.

"But … it's more secure there, isn't it?" Nate asked with a crooked smile that was 100% Scott - but for entirely different reasons than Warren had ever seen Scott smiling like _that_. Or maybe not.

"I told you, if there's a mission the Avengers need you for, they'll come looking. I promised your dad that I'd stick to his list of rules since you got yourself _grounded_."

"Listen, Warren," Nate said as he dropped into the chair across from him. "You have to understand. I'm not failing because I'm bad at history."

"No, you're failing because you're trying to get your dad laid."

Nate's eyes widened - and Warren had to keep from laughing outright because _that _ … that was most definitely a face he'd gotten Scott to make in his youth more times than he could count. And it was hilarious every single time. "That is _not _what I was - I mean. It was. But not like - It wasn't … it's not _like that_! Miss Hale isn't … she's not that kind of - _why are you like this?_"

Warren didn't miss a beat as he picked up his glass of water. "I'm a shut in, Nate. There's only so much I can occupy my time with." He paused and smiled crookedly to himself. "And I suppose that's part of why Scott asked _me _to look out for you." He leaned toward Nate and lowered his voice. "Betsy, your mother, and the professor all built up my psychic defenses. You're not going to pull one over on me just to get some alone time with your girlfriend."

Nate stared at him for a moment, and took a different route than what he would normally take with one of his father's oldest friends. "Is … that a challenge?"

"If it was a challenge, I'd notify her mother where your mind is at," Warren said with a grin.

Nate held up both hands. "Got it. Message received. I won't push. I was joking anyhow."

"No you weren't."

"No, I wasn't," Nate admitted with a sheepish grin and one hand at the back of his neck. "Are you going to nuke me if she comes over?"

"Nope," Warren said, shaking his head lightly. "Just stay in the living room and no overnights."

Nate sighed, but reached out to Kate to let her know what the deal was - and what Warren liked on his pizza. _It looks like we're stuck with a chaperone_, he projected to her. _No to the tower. No to backing off on the angelic supervision. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was enjoying torturing me. _

_Are you sure he's not?_

_He's just happy for a change of scenery, _Nate replied. _And a chance to relive his glory days of harassing my Dad. Must be the face. _

_It _is _a good face, _Kate replied. _That requires more kissing. _

_Please hurry. If we play our cards right, we might be able to get gelato after. Who knows. With a little luck, maybe we _won't _be stuck playing Scrabble with Angel. _

_I'll make sure Mom knows to call us if there's any trouble. _

* * *

Mia and Tommy were very cozy - until Tommy got a text from his brother asking if he was in trouble.

_Not yet,_ Tommy texted back as Mia giggled with her hand over her mouth and her tail swaying behind her - exactly like a cat that was ready to pounce.

_Do you need me to wish you here? _Billy asked. _Since I know you're not home. _

_That's where you're wrong, _Tommy replied. _And I kinda wanted to time myself. _

Mia had read every word, and though she'd fallen silent in her giggles, her smile had only grown on seeing what Tommy had written. She couldn't help herself from falling harder for him when he was being so _sweet_. Even if he didn't realize how sweet he was.

_I'll give you ten minutes before I wish you here_, Billy sent - his decision in place.

"That gives me five anyhow," Tommy said, grinning before he pointedly put the phone into the freezer bag then turned to Mia for one last makeout session before he had to go.

But finally, Tommy knew he had to get going - or risk owing his twin for pulling him away from Westchester when he should have been in Genosha. "I'll be back before you know it."

"I wasn't expecting this as it was," Mia said, then kissed the very tip of his nose. "Text me when you get there."

Tommy grinned and then slipped out of her window. She rushed to the open window to watch him climb down, then shook her head as he took off - with leaves and grass belatedly waving in the direction he'd run.

* * *

Dinner with the extended family and Magneto on the first night in Genosha was a little awkward. Tommy had come in almost late, which had his parents frowning at him, though the way he'd zipped in and dropped into his chair ready to devour anything he got his hands on was kind of a dead giveaway that he had been up to something. The windswept hair and devil-may-care grin was almost as good as a signed confession to attest that he hadn't been on Genosha nearly as long as anyone else that day.

The formal dinner ahead of them promised to be a long, drawn out affair that they all had gone into with their own coping mechanisms in place. James and Billy had obviously decided they would actively ignore whatever looks Magneto shot their way, but Rachel could telepathically hear Wanda getting frustrated with her father while she went out of her way to make sure James knew _they _wanted him there. The way that Magneto was acting had Rachel seething. James hadn't done anything to earn how Erik was treating him, and the fact that James had been going out of his way _not _to stir up trouble had her honestly concerned for her brother. Which meant Rachel wasn't very talkative, even belatedly answering questions when one was directed at her.

Vision rounded out the effort toward normalcy by trying to engage in a little small talk with Scott about the kids and their lives. It made for an interesting study in human psychology when the android was the one who kept things from being a total disaster, since Scott was more than happy to brag about James' degrees or Rachel's handle on her powers or Nate's grades _and _sports…

...though that fell a bit to the wayside when the news covered the X-Men again. Erik constantly had one screen or another going to keep him abreast of any developing situations. Apparently, Nate, Kate, and Mia were rescuing civilians from a protest rally that had turned violent.

The reporters on the scene had managed to convince the three of them to talk, and for the most part, it seemed like the kids were handling the attention well enough. Nate had taken a page out of his dad's book and was talking about the dream of the X-Men, but it was when a reporter asked Kate a question that things got interesting.

"_So what's your story, anyway?"_

_Kate laughed and held up her hands. "Come on, guys. We wear masks for a reason. Secret identities are a thing."_

"_Right, but you're not a mutant, are you?"_

_Nate had unconsciously stepped in front of Kate. "What does that have to do with anything?"_

"_Well," the reporter said, "the X-Men are supposed to be a team of mutants, right?"_

_Nate looked like he was going to give the reporter a piece of his mind, but Kate put her hand on his arm. "I got this," she said softly his way, then turned to the reporter. "You're only listening to half of what we're saying. You're so caught up in the part where the X-Men want to show the world that mutants aren't scary that you're forgetting 'peaceful coexistence' too."_

"_No, I'm just pointing out that the X-Men have always-"_

"_Look," Kate said, cutting across him. "Catch up, would you? Do I have to spell it out? You don't have to be a mutant to stand up for mutants."_

It was such a good quote that the reporter ran with it, already spinning it as the three X-Men teleported away to do a little post-mission celebrating, with the headline reading "Peaceful Coexistence?" and the pundits on the other side were already debating how _safe _it was for a human to be on a team with such _dangerous _teammates.

There was silence at the dinner table for a long time as the newscast continued.

"That's it," James said, breaking the weighty silence. "I'm sending her flowers."

Rachel snorted. "Wrong sibling," she said. "You know Nate's making out with her right now."

"No, no, it's 'congratulations on shutting down the reporter,' not 'hey baby, what's your sign,'" James said dryly.

Rachel burst out laughing at that. "Billy, _please _tell me that's how you two hooked up!"

"Oh yeah," Billy said without missing a beat. "Who can resist flowers and astrology?"

"She handled those questions quite well," Vision said, his head tipped to the side as he watched the broadcast.

"Yeah," James agreed. "And a lot of that sounds like Hawkeye the first."

"Like father like daughter," Rachel said, grinning brilliantly at Scott, who wasn't hiding his smirk well.

"Now if only the reporters _could _catch up," Scott said. "They just need to read anything the professor wrote to see where the team is coming from."

"I'll bet someone could have Stark's company slip that into somewhere easy to reach," Billy said with a smirk. "During an Avenger's statement."

"Or someone with reality altering powers could just poof them there…" Rachel teased.

"I didn't say _who_," Billy pointed out. "Or how."

Rachel smirked into her drink. "Sure didn't."

"What do you think the Old Gray Hawk is doing for her tonight?" James asked Rachel, glad to have something to talk about for the moment that wasn't their father bragging about them. He didn't think that giving Kate well deserved praise would be problematic.

"Throwing a party," Rachel said without missing a beat.

"That's taking it a step beyond the basics of Xavier's papers," James said quieter - his focus on Rachel as he said so.

"It's just the logical conclusion of the dream," Rachel said with a shrug.

"It's the most intelligent conclusion anyhow," James agreed.

"Preposterous," Erik said in a low, throaty tone, killing the jovial mood with one word. "I know you children mean well, but you don't know the _first thing_ about it. What you learned was filtered through retelling, that isn't anywhere _near _what Charles wanted."

"Actually," Rachel said, "Dad kept a copy of the professor's works. There's a few at the school too."

"And I got a copy when I graduated the first time," James said, backing Rachel up. "Pretty sure Storm will let you read it. Again." He smirked at Billy for an instant. "Or, I'd be happy to get you a copy of your own."

"I don't need to read it when I was side by side with Charles when he _wrote _it," Erik said, his eyes flashing already. "_This _place, this was his dream - mutants out in the open, not cowering and hiding!"

"Grandfather, this isn't peaceful coexistence," Billy pointed out, which had Wanda raising an eyebrow at how he was standing up to Erik. "Not by any definition I've seen. That would mean humans and mutants were living in the same place at the same time. That's all. It's really not asking for much."

"This is a highly polished, segregated island," Tommy said carefully, perfectly annunciating each word as he ran one hand through his hair and gestured broadly with the other.

Billy nodded, pointing at his brother as both of Scott's kids smirked at the two of them. It was obvious that neither James nor Rachel had expected the twins to take that stance with their grandfather, and their relief on hearing it was easy to see. "Right," Billy said. "Separate but not equal."

When Erik got to his feet and looked like he was about to tear into the kids, Scott got to his feet as well. "If you yell at my kids for telling the truth, I will personally make sure you never speak again."

All of the kids' smiles dropped as they turned to watch the show, looking between the two men as Rachel and James were positively tensed and ready to spring, already telepathically reinforcing their plans on how to deal with an attack from Erik, should it come to that. Rachel was right on the brink with fire dancing at the center of her pupils and James was turned, waiting for her cue to neutralize Erik.

"You can disagree," Scott said evenly but without dropping his gaze from Erik. "But do _not _yell. At my kids."

"I've welcomed you into my home, and this is how you repay me?" Erik shot back.

"I didn't know your home came with a requirement for them not to think for themselves."

"Gag order's on the front door," Tommy called out, but that was one step over the line for Erik.

"_Get out_," Erik said. "All of you. Get out of my sight."

James was absolutely set to stay and back Scott up - at least until Billy pulled at his arm to get him moving. He didn't want to leave Scott alone with Erik, but he wasn't really thrilled with getting Billy in trouble either. When Rachel projected to him that their dad wanted them to clear out so he could talk to Erik without the element of Erik's family drama, James let out a sigh and got to his feet. When he passed Scott by, James was sure to squeeze Scott's shoulder - and dropped one of the new non-metallic bugs they'd brought with.

Scott waited until the kids were gone and the tall, heavy doors clanged shut before he let out a breath. "They're kids, Erik. They're young. I told you that."

"They're only repeating the propaganda they've been told," Erik said.

"_I _taught them about peaceful coexistence. That _was _the dream," Scott said evenly. "_That_ was why we had the school in Westchester instead of hidden away. _That _was why the professor spoke out publicly. I'm not going to try and rewrite history just because the X-Men died with Charles Xavier."

"And I'm not going to forget what was done to Charles - to his team - or to my _son_," Erik said, sounding angrier with each word.

"You think I've forgotten?" Scott shot back, matching his tone with his own anger. "You think I can _look in the mirror_ without thinking about it?"

"You still think that you can be peaceful with those that would have you dead and buried and celebrating it! Look at where that dream got _you_, Scott. You're a mutant in name _only _and you bear the scars of what exactly it is the humans would _use us for _if given even half a chance."

"I _know_!" Scott shot back.

"Then how can you stand by and allow this to continue? How can you let your own _children _believe that humans can be anything but cruel and opportunistic?"

"What do you expect me to do?" Scott said.

"Tell them the _truth_," Erik said. "All of it. Tell that girl _why _her mother held it back for so long when she could have _so easily _gotten all of you out without letting Charles _die _for nothing."

"_Don't talk to me about what happened to him_," Scott said angrily. "I was there when he died. It was one of the last things I ever saw with my own eyes."

"What was the final straw, Scott? What was it that finally tipped her over the edge?"

"We were all in shock," Scott said. "She was a ticking time bomb trying to hold it back so she could take care of _me_. As soon as we lost Logan and K, _that _was the last straw. You know it. You _saw _them when you got there. You know how recent it was. And even then, she tried to hold back because _we didn't know where the kids were_. She didn't lose it completely until Kurt got her out of the compound so the kids weren't at risk!"

"Jean Grey did more to save mutants in one night than your whole team could manage in _years._"

"The price was too high," Scott said. "She could have destroyed the world if Kurt hadn't stopped her. I won't ask my kids to cross those lines."

"Then you are condemning them to the same half-life that you had at your height."

"We were _happy_, Erik," Scott said. "Don't you get that? We had family. We had each other. And we were making a difference!"

"And because you refused to _act_ against the men who wanted to use you to hurt more of your own kind, you brought that fate down on yourself."

"I won't let my kids become killers, Erik," Scott said.

"If you want them to survive, you will."

Scott shook his head. "No. I'd cross that line myself before I let them lose themselves."

"Careful, Scott. You're starting to sound like Wolverine, and you know how well that turned out."

Scott narrowed his eyes, leaning on the table with his hands flat. "Logan didn't die for his philosophy, Erik."

"No," Erik said with a sneer. "He didn't die for anything, did he?"

Scott narrowed his eyes for an instant as he tried to keep his temper, reminding himself that a fight wasn't really what he came for today. "I'm trying to keep them _safe_. Not turn them into weapons."

"And I'm trying to give them freedom."

"Then give it to them," Scott said. "But don't turn them into _your _pawns to do it."

"Until the humans are dealt with, Scott, then all of them are pawns."

"What are you planning to do?" Scott asked, his eyes narrowed to slits.

Erik smirked. "Set it right."

"You're going to get my kids killed for the crime of having human friends," Scott said.

"Not them, no."

Scott scowled for a long time. The truth of the matter was that if he'd had a weapon, he would have acted right then with a threat like that hanging in the air. But he didn't have anything that wasn't metallic, not in Magneto's home, so he had to play his cards carefully. "If you do this," he said slowly, softly, "you can't go after people like the kids that are trying to stand up with mine. There are worse people out there, ones that have actually hurt people."

"Agreed," Erik said. "Finally."

Scott held his gaze. "Alright," he said at last. "I can't stop you." He took a deep breath. "I still don't want my kids involved. But I can't stop you."

"I won't say that I'll avoid trying to get them to see sense," Erik said. "And no. You _can't _stop me, Scott. You never could."

"That's overstating things," Scott said. "When I had my powers…"

"You don't _have _your powers."

"No, but I still have some power or you wouldn't argue with me," Scott said with a quiet smirk.

"Not the kind you're aware of, perhaps," Erik admitted. "And I do have a special sort of _pity _for Charles' first student."

"I've never asked for pity," Scott said, his eyes narrowed.

"Yet you have it."

"I don't want it," Scott said. "I've seen three kids - three _high-value target kids _\- to young adulthood with no powers of my own while government agencies were looking for them-"

"How can you admit that to me and still argue against their futures?"

"Because I want their futures to be better than the never-ending fight for survival we had," Scott said.

"Hiding like this, Scott," Erik said, letting his tone soften finally. "It will only end in misery."

Scott held Erik's gaze for a moment longer before he let out a breath and dropped it. "There's no sense in arguing with you on this," he said.

"Sooner or later, you'll either see things my way, or you'll meet the same end as your X-Men," Erik said as he turned to leave Scott standing there.

"That's where you're wrong," Scott said dully. "No one wants to kill me anymore."

"Is that why you're not using your name, Mr. Summers?" Erik called back. "Because you're so _safe_?"

Scott didn't say anything, though he did make sure that he timed it so that when Erik looked over his shoulder, Scott was seated again, this time with his head in both hands.


	45. Bugged

**A/N - PAV, you crack me up, even when it's serious. thank you kindly for the review. Now ... I said it was gonna be slow on this one. Be. patient. Once we get past the hump, I'll probably pick up pace again here. ;) Happy Weekend of spangly holiday! (not THE spangly one, just A spangly one.) **

**Chapter 45: Bugged**

* * *

Although all of the kids had ended up eavesdropping on Scott and Erik's conversation, they weren't entirely sure what to make of it. James and Rachel were sure their dad wasn't _agreeing _with Erik but… they didn't know half the details Scott and Erik had discussed on what had happened to their parents. And they knew their dad wasn't exactly doing well. But it didn't help them sort through what had happened and all that they'd heard.

The twins, who had been more tense than they realized, had listened half holding their breath - though Billy had been equal parts surprised, impressed, and bewildered that he'd been left out of the loop from even knowing that James had the tech to work around Magneto. But all of his questions fell to the wayside the instant that Logan's death was brought up. Especially when James didn't have a thing to say for the rest of the evening.

The kids had all scattered by the time that Scott would have been able to even begin looking for them. James had taken the short cut unintentionally as Billy simply wished him to his room before he'd stolen a kiss and promised to find him in the morning. When Scott poked his head in to check on James, he was already in bed with his back to the door feigning sleep as he mulled over everything that they'd overheard. And while Scott was glad to see that James was at least safe for the time being, he wasn't totally surprised when Wanda knocked on his door a short while later.

"It's starting to feel like most of my conversations with people start out by apologizing for my father's behavior," Wanda said quietly, even before Scott could invite her into the suite. "But I feel the need to apologize all the same. There is no good excuse for his attitude. I know he's twisted up the memory of the professor's dream and I have no excuse for him outside of senility."

"That really doesn't ease my mind, Wanda," Scott said, hoping that this wasn't going to turn into another fight.

"I'm sure it doesn't," she agreed before she took a seat and sighed heavily. "I hope you won't abandon the rest of this trip."

"Come on, Wanda," Scott said, forcing a smile as much as he was able. "You act like I've never dealt with your father in one of his moods before."

"Oh, I know you have. Outside of those of us sharing a blood tie, you're probably the most experienced in the world. You're simply out of practice."

"Yeah, but it's like riding a bike, right?"

"Still," Wanda said, relaxing slightly on seeing that Scott wasn't ready to leave yet. "I'll speak with him later. I wanted to check on you first and make sure that this isn't going to ruin things for the _boys _either. Billy never would have asked for you to come here if he wasn't head over heels." When Scott didn't have a reply loaded up and ready, Wanda continued. "And I'd hate to lose an ally in matters that have become much larger than Genosha already."

Scott watched her for a long moment. "You're worried about what your father is up to."

"I'd be a fool not to be," Wanda said. "And the fact that you're _here _… if this was just about the boys, we could have come to you to keep my father out of the middle."

"Billy really did want to show James where he's from," Scott said, almost surprising himself at his defense of Billy's motives. "But you're partially right. There's no way I'd allow James to come here without me with how things are politically in the world right now."

Wanda smiled sedately and then let her gaze drop to her hands. "I suppose it would be asking too much to have you help me to keep my father from going too far. Especially for as long as you've kept away from such matters."

"No," Scott said, shaking his head gently. "I just don't know that there's much I could do."

She looked up with the light flashing in her eyes very much like her father. "If he continues on this path, I don't expect the world to tolerate _him _much longer. It would be bad for mutants around the world if he goes back to his warmongering ways. _Help me _make sure that never happens again, Scott."

"If it comes to a point where he needs to be talked down-"

"If he could be talked down, it would have been done by now. We both know the only one who _ever _had any success in getting him off of the ledge was Charles." Wanda shrugged. "And my mother, but that … was even farther in the past." She let her shoulders droop. "I'm only asking that if there is a way to stop him without _ending him_ that you take that route. As harsh as he can be -" Her sentiment fell to silence and Scott could see that they were more or less on the same page. "It would be hard on the boys - and Lorna's kids too … I know you have yet to see it, but they love him. And he _is_ losing his grip on sanity."

Scott was quiet, though he nodded minutely, acutely aware that they might be overheard. He wasn't stupid enough to think that Erik hadn't bugged the suite anticipating any _treason_. "I don't want to see any harm come to your father, Wanda."

"Neither do I." Wanda frowned and then leaned toward him, her hands on her crossed knees. "I put the 'security measures' on a loop before I came in. Between that and a little spell that Lorna and I use often, no one listens in on me unless I allow it." She reached over to rest her hand on his wrist. "He's been pushing his luck. I'm simply trying to tell you as much. I swore to Lorna that I wouldn't interfere with our father, but … I would not hold it against you if you did so for the sake of the children, our old teams, and the fate of our kind at large. I only ask you try to handle him as Charles would, if it's even possible."

"Understood," Scott said, then smiled. "But … if that's the route you're discussing, then I'm going to ask that you get him to lay off James."

"Already working on it," Wanda promised, then smiled. "You did so well with James, Scott. It's clear he's holding his tongue and trying to be respectful. I know that's entirely for Billy's sake."

"Is that why Billy's being more open about speaking against him?" Scott asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Most likely," Wanda agreed with a smile. "The boys are protective of each other. Believe it or not, that's a new experience for Billy - having someone sincere enough to look out for him."

"Then it's a good match," Scott said as Wanda got to her feet.

"I'll make sure to keep my father occupied tomorrow. If you're not planning anything already, I'd like to find a quiet place to speak with you further. It seems our boys are getting serious after all."

* * *

Thankfully for the kids' sanity, the next morning Kitty caught up to Rachel while Billy and Tommy tried to get James to talk to them about what they'd all overheard. After all, not only was Wanda and Vision keeping watch, but Kitty was concerned about Scott as well.

_Rachel, _Kitty projected out to get her attention and then waved once she had it. "Hey! I don't know if you remember me… I'm Kitty."

Rachel's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah, of course I do," she said as she shook Kitty's hand - and then Kitty pulled her into a hug and did the usual gushing about how much she looked like her mom. "We've missed you."

"We missed you too. I'm still a little salty that I didn't get to keep your little brother. But, ah, I wanted to ask…" Kitty paused and then switched to telepathic communication - since she, too, was paranoid. _Do you know why your dad's here?_

Rachel paused. _He said you were worried about Magneto, _she admitted. _And after spending some time with the guy, I don't exactly blame you. _

_He's been getting worse for a few years now. He's just escalating now that he has an excuse._

Rachel nodded. _I see why you asked him to come, _she said, then bit her lip, wondering if she should bring up the conversation from last night. And if she did, she wasn't sure where to _start_.

_What's on your mind, Rachel? You have the same tells as your father. _

Rachel couldn't help but smile. _I guess, _she said, then let the expression fall. _James and I were eavesdropping on Dad and Magneto._

_I thought you couldn't do that, _Kitty replied, frowning in spite of herself.

_Not telepathically, but James has a non-metallic listening device, _Rachel explained. _He dropped it on Dad at dinner before he and Erik started really yelling at each other and… _She bit her lip. _And it seems like Dad is ... he's… agreeing with him. _

_He's not,_ Kitty said. _No way. _

_You didn't hear what I did, _Rachel argued.

_I don't have to. He's trying to get to him_, Kitty told her. _Keep it to yourself, but it's all part of the plan. _

Rachel let her shoulders drop. _That's actually a huge relief, _she said.

_You can tell your brother I'm going to want more of those bugs, if he has any. _

_I'll tell him. Hold on; he needs to know that and that Dad's not going to the dark side, _Rachel said, holding up a hand to relay what Kitty had said to James. _Hey little brother… Dad's playing a long game with Magneto, apparently, _she told James.

_He's what now? _James asked, sounding anxious even though the telepathic link.

_He's agreeing with him so he can get the guy's trust, _Rachel said. _He and Kitty have a plan. _

_You better be right, _James said. _The twins are kind of freaking out here. Over a few things. So if you need me, I'm going to be with them. Tommy has a spot to hide out, I guess._

_I'm right, _Rachel said. _I'd know if Kitty was lying. If you want to be sure, we can ask Dad after we're off Genosha._

_I doubt he'll tell us, _James said.

_You can at least tell if he's lying about agreeing with him, _Rachel pointed out.

_Yeah. Sure. In the meantime, I need to go over a few things with Billy and Tommy. Billy needs to hear why I didn't warn him about the bugs. Tommy wants to know why he didn't get one just for kicks. They hit both sides of everything, Rach. So … thanks for letting me know, anyhow._

Rachel let out a sigh and then turned back to Kitty. "We haven't even been here for twenty-four hours and already this trip has sucked."

"That bad, huh?" Kitty said, pulling her over by her shoulders.

"Yeah. Dad's been a mess since we debuted the team. And this whole thing with Magneto really hasn't helped."

"About that," Kitty said. "What's going on with him?"

"Um, I didn't study psychology?"

"No, because Summers are genetically afraid of that," Kitty said.

"Hey, I tried asking Dad to find a therapist, but then he told me about how the last person he asked for help was-"

"Emma."

"Uh-huh. So he shut me down pretty hard."

"If she's still alive, I want to kill her," Kitty said. "Phase her head into a wall."

Rachel nodded and let out a breath. "I don't know what you want to know. Dad didn't want us to be X-Men, and he's scared of losing us. And he's been … distant for a while now."

But that seemed to draw Kitty's attention fast. "Distant how?"

"He won't let me or Nate see what he's thinking and he's not _talkative_."

"That's really not good," Kitty said.

"I know," Rachel said. "But I don't know what to do about it. We've always been there for Dad and he's always been there for us, and we've never been this… out of sync before."

"How's your brother handling it?" Kitty asked.

"Which one? Because Nate's trying to set Dad up with his history teacher…"

"That's a long shot," Kitty said with a snort.

"That's what I said," Rachel said. "James is just… frustrated. He's kind of shutting down too. He's been a lot more withdrawn and quiet since Magneto threatened him in the lab. I know he's not afraid of him, but he also doesn't want to cause drama for Billy." She took a deep breath that wobbled a bit, suddenly realizing how emotional she was as it hit her all at once.

"Another not great sign, right?" Kitty said before she pulled Rachel into a tight hug. "You're okay if I hug you, right?"

"Yeah," Rachel said in a breath. "I just… I know Magneto is a problem, and I know you wouldn't ask Dad for help if it wasn't big, it's just-"

"Do me a favor and make sure you keep out of his way," Kitty said. "We're working on it. I promise. Bobby and I - we still consider ourselves on the team, you know."

Rachel smiled at that, wiping her eyes. "You should come out with us."

"If we can find a way off the island that won't tip off Erik that something is up? You're so on."

"Good." Rachel let out a breath. "You'll watch out for him, right? My dad?"

"Absolutely," Kitty promised.

* * *

That day, Erik was nowhere to be seen - which was good since Alex and Lorna had decided that the visiting Summers group needed to take a tour of the island - and get away from the palace to let Erik find a way to compose himself after the disastrous welcome dinner. Which was a good thing, all told. Scott _needed _to spend a little time with his brother like this on Alex's turf and playing with his niece and nephew in their comfort zone. Not to mention that watching Rachel and James with the two kids - both of whom had attached to James but were taking direction from Rachel - was a refreshing kind of entertainment in itself.

"You're all coming to dinner with _just us _tonight, right?" Lorna prompted as they got back to the palace after a long day of exploring the island and finally surfing with Alex on the beaches he knew as well as those of Hawaii.

"Sure we can-" Scott started to say, but stopped when he saw the expression James was wearing.

"Vision and Wanda wanted me to go with them tonight," James said. "I already agreed to it."

"Oh, yes, that's _very _important too," Lorna said, smiling wider. "Have fun - I know my sister's dying to get you away from everyone and get to know you better."

"_You_ can still come though, big brother," Alex said as he dropped his arm around Scott's shoulders. "You need more time with little Chris and Suzie. And you know you want to."

"Really, Dad," James said with a crooked smile. "It's fine."

"Alright, but you need to make sure you don't cross Erik if he tries to talk to you again," Scott said, honestly concerned with how bady it could go. "You can't get away with as much here."

"Placate the king," James said - which had Alex nodding along.

"Pretty much," Alex said. "Though I doubt he'll even try talking to you."

Scott and James both gave him a dry look as Rachel slowly shook her head, though it fell flat when it was clear that Alex had no idea that Magneto had already threatened James. "All the same. I want to check in with you when you get back from Wanda and Vision," Scott said as he gave James a more serious look.

"Will do," James promised as they headed back to their rooms. "I'm not going to say anything to stir up trouble, Dad. Don't worry."

As it turned out, when it came time for the split, Scott and Rachel headed off to an entirely different side of the palace from where James and Billy had to go to spend time with Wanda and Vision. But it wasn't anything uncomfortable or unpleasant since Wanda and Vision had already decided how they felt about James. So this dinner was more trying to get him to talk about himself with a little more detail for Vision's sake while Billy and Wanda shared quiet smiles and caught up.

It was clear that Vision was excited to hear more from James about what direction Tony was taking with his tech - even if James couldn't get too in depth about it, considering how little he trusted the palace to _not _have microphones everywhere. Or for whoever was listening on the other end of those microphones to _not _be reporting every word to Erik.

But even with a censored discussion, James and Vision were quickly comparing notes - and theories on what was next. It was easily the most stimulating conversation Vision had had on the island in years. Which made Wanda incredibly reluctant to break it up. The two of them were getting into a good groove when James almost did a double take as Erik came in and sat down between Wanda and Billy.

Erik was quiet at first, and if James hadn't known better, it would have seemed as if Erik was a perfectly normal grandfather in how he responded to Billy and tried to very quietly engage him in conversation. Which had James nervous, if he was being honest. Not for his safety, more for what Erik would do to split him and Billy apart. And the more he let himself think about it, the more he was convinced that it was an eventuality. So it wasn't long before James' mood slipped out of the range of where he'd been at the height of their conversation _before _Erik showed up.

_After all_, James reasoned to himself, _not like he couldn't do worlds better than me. _But Vision kept trying to keep their conversation going - and away from Erik for as long as he could. Then again, Erik never would have shown up if he hadn't intended to break up the party.

"I know Tony Stark always has the finest minds working under him," Erik said at last when there was a pause in the conversation Vision was having with James. "Don't take offense, young man, but I wonder if he's bothered to educate you in all of the barbaric methods that were used to hunt our kind down." His tone was warm still - a total 180 from the night before- and James knew he was trying to bait him into .. something.

"Daddy, now is not the time," Wanda said, resting her hand on Erik's wrist.

"Actually," James said carefully as he held Erik's gaze, unwilling to let Erik insinuate that Tony had been anything but amazing to him. "Tony's been open with me on all of that outdated tech. From both sides."

But instead of the anger James had expected, Erik smiled. "Then I wonder if you wouldn't mind demonstrating Stark's level of _honesty _with you." Erik reached under his ever-present cape to produce a softball sized device and set it down on the table. "Did he bother telling you what this is?"

Billy and Wanda both were openly watching Erik, neither of them pleased with whatever game he was up to. But they weren't expecting James' reaction. As the rest of the Maximoff family frowned, James' eyebrows shot up in surprise at seeing the device. "Is that …." he paused and looked back up at Erik. "May I?"

The smile Erik was wearing held steady, though it didn't touch his eyes at all. "Be my guest."

James continued to hold his gaze for a beat longer before he tipped his chin down and picked up the device. It was a moody bit of tech. He knew that already from what Tony had told him about several of Erik's tech division's devices - hampered by the unstable magnetic field that surrounded Erik. James turned the device over in his hands a few times, silently examining it and trying to find a way to be tactful about what he could see already. "It never really did was it was supposed to, did it?"

"No," Erik said, shaking his head and losing some of the almost manic expression. "It never did what I needed it to without my hand to guide it."

James hummed to himself as he nodded and continued to inspect the device since that was something he could focus on that would draw his attention away from his emotions.

"What is it?" Billy asked, frowning deeply and looking guarded himself. It was clear though, that Wanda and Vision knew exactly what it was if the disapproving looks they were giving Erik was any indicator. But before they could intervene, James answered for them.

"It's a sentinel seeker," James said almost distractedly. "Or it was supposed to be." He glanced up at Erik. "Your guys wanted it to hunt down mutant killing robots and destroy them, right? I thought these never made it into circulation."

"They didn't," Erik admitted. "But I thought after hearing whispers of your technological feats for Tony Stark, it wouldn't hurt to see if you'd be able to find the root defect. For the betterment of mutant kind, of course."

James froze. It was a blatant test - and one that James was going to have a very hard time turning down. Especially when he agreed that the mutant hunting robots were a step over the line. Still. He had to be _extremely _careful in how he responded, which he supposed was another test in itself. James swallowed, then very suddenly took a hold of the device with both hands and cracked it open. Maybe if he didn't speak first …

But Billy wasn't amused at all, especially when there was no one but himself that could have told Erik much about what James was up to with Tony. And he didn't want to admit to his sweetheart that he'd reported back to Erik about _him_. Even if it had been early on. "Grandfather," he said, taking on a tone that James wasn't used to - one that held a bit of authority that Billy probably didn't _like _to use, but was necessary when dealing with Magneto simply to be _heard_. "James is under contract with Tony Stark _and _Stark Industries. He _can't _work on anyone else's tech or it would break contract. I'm very sure 'what happens in Genosha' won't be a sufficient excuse."

Erik looked supremely irritated, but before he could open his mouth, James calmly and patiently cut in. "I'm not working on it. I'm looking at it. Nothing says I can't consult if I don't do the work myself." That quickly earned a pleased smile from Erik, though Billy was openly shocked and didn't hide it as he stared at James with honest concern.

It only took a few more minutes before James started to put the device back together otherwise untouched. "The body of the device is made from the same metal as sentinels were, right? I'm guessing that was so they could go in under their sensors?"

Erik nodded, obviously pleased already. "Yes, they were made from old sentinels," Erik said, clearly amused with his own cleverness.

"That's fine, so - because of that, it would make it harder for their sensors to differentiate the seekers from the sentinels," James explained for Billy, preferring to clue him in on what was going on when the rest of the table already knew. And it was easier than speaking directly with Erik. "But the bigger problem is that they don't have the right programming to operate this without using them as drones. _That _wouldn't work though because the radio transmission to direct them would trip off the Sentinel's security systems. And that would be riskier than what the developers intended. Otherwise, to follow their model, you'd need sentient tech that could tap into machinery to scan the programming and decide on the fly if it was a threat or not without living people making the call." James set the device down carefully right where Erik had originally placed it, then met Erik's gaze. "There have been leaps and bounds in tech that could address that, but the newer, upgraded sentinels wouldn't be something these would be able to handle like they did for the giant robots." James looked toward Vision for a moment. "And though the technology _exists _to turn them into sentient devices- it's incredibly dangerous and far too prone to going wrong."

"Precisely," Vision agreed, heartily before he turned toward Erik. "Which is why I advised you to let this kind of project fall to the wayside."

But Erik barely acknowledged Vision while his focus was elsewhere. "James, I'd very much like to take you by my labs tonight. If your assessment is this thorough with a quick glance at outdated technology, I'm sure you'd be able to tell me if my scientists are lacking for anything with what I've provided for them so far."

James glanced between Billy and his parents, though he knew from the tone Erik was using and the way he was holding himself that it wasn't really something he could say no to, either. Not in the man's home, anyway. "I promised my Dad I'd meet up with him after this, but -"

"Wonderful," Erik said as he got to his feet. "It's hardly a detour between here and your quarters."

"O-kay," James said as he quietly got to his feet and followed Erik's lead. He glanced over at Billy - his silent apology clear before Vision nodded tersely to Wanda then quickly fell into step with James and Erik.

"I think I'd like to hear your assessment as well," Vision said with a stoic sort of smile as the three of them headed toward the labs.

The doors had barely closed though before Billy had turned to his mother with a note of panic. "What's he _doing_? He's going to wreck it for me, I just know it."

"Sweetheart," Wanda said, resting her hand on his arm. "I don't think James will be so easy for him to manipulate. You don't know it, but there is a lot of his mother in him."

"Did you know that he already threatened James in his lab?" Billy asked, looking somewhere between alarmed and angry. "James won't tell me about it more than to say he's alright - _which he's not_."

"No, he didn't mention that," Wanda admitted. "But I'll take care of it. He's changing tactics -"

"Like that's not a bad thing?" Billy asked, cutting across her. "Because it is. A very bad thing."

"I won't let your grandfather scare him off," Wanda promised before running her hand over Billy's hair. "I told you, I don't think James will intimidate that easily. I know you really like him." She kissed his forehead then met his gaze with one hand on his cheek. "And if he didn't feel the same, there is no way that he'd have come. Remember - he came even after he was threatened. He's here for _you_, and solidly enough that Cyclops is backing him up. That means more than you realize."

Billy sighed heavily. "I hope you're right. Thanks, Mom. I do feel a little better now."

* * *

Erik was trying to lay a claim to Billy's boyfriend, and Tommy was starting to think Billy could do _nothing _that their grandfather didn't think he could turn to his advantage. Which was an annoying enough thought that Tommy felt like going somewhere a little less… _controlled_.

Plus, he _had _promised to surprise Mia again…

It was upsettingly easy to slip away, too. Erik was so focused on his hand-picked successor and his boyfriend that nothing else seemed to matter to him. If Tommy wasn't also sure that his grandfather was still steaming about the X-Men, he might even have said Erik was distracted. And yeah, Tommy might not have gotten along with his grandfather, but seeing in living color how Erik was turning from ruling to obsessing was hard. Tommy _liked_ Genosha; he didn't want it to get neglected the way he was forgotten at family events until he did something to get attention.

So rather than watch that happen, he opted for Door Number Two: kissing his girlfriend.

He spent the entire run to Westchester congratulating himself on his decision-making - right up until he went to Mia's room and made the fatal error of assuming the person he had seen moving in the room was Mia.

To his credit, his entrance _would _have been smooth. He climbed in through the window with a tropical flower and a crooked grin and had already called out a greeting before he got a good look at who he was flirting with.

"Gah!" Tommy said, backpedaling fast.

"Hello, Tommy," Storm said as the wind blew him right off his feet and into the air. "Won't you stay a while?"

Tommy flailed a few times before he accepted his fate and gave Storm what he hoped was a winning grin. "Can't be late for dinner with the grimy grandpa!" he sang out.

"Yes, I'm sure that's why you're here _now _when it's past usual dining hours in civilized society where you _should _be on Genosha," Ororo replied with a little smile. "How many times have you been back here like this during break?"

"Um …. Just … a couple of times," Tommy answered. "But believe me, if you were there now, you'd rather be here too. It's _ridiculous_ what Grandfather is doing ... James is a mess, the Summerses are all pulling their hair out … and Kitty and Iceman are just … well. They're dealing as well as anyone _could_."

Ororo narrowed her eyes for an instant. "Perhaps it would be best if you told me what was being discussed and what was happening?"

"Oh, sure. I just … I kinda figured that Dadclops would have already told you what the plan was … you know. Especially since me and Billy had _no _idea that James was going to be bugging the dinner convo-"

"Tommy," Ororo said, holding up one hand. "I'm going to set you down, but I expect for you to remain here and tell me what it is that my old friend has neglected to tell me."

"Oh. So. All of it?"

"Please."

Tommy nodded to himself. "Alright. But … does that mean I'm off the hook for detention when we get back because -"

Ororo smiled to herself. "I'm willing to overlook a few indiscretions if you can manage to be more upfront in the future."

"Really?" Tommy asked with a crooked smile. "Yeah. Alright. I can work with you on that."

"You should," Ororo said. "If you plan on remaining an X-Man, you would be wise to consult with the old leaders."

Tommy grinned at that. "Oh yeah. Do I get to hear about it? The good stuff, I mean … I don't … really need to hear the bad stuff."

"Of Course," Ororo agreed. "But first, tell me what trouble you've been causing."

* * *

It was another hour and a half after dinner with Billy's family had ended before James did, in fact, get back to the suite that the Summers family was using during their stay on Genosha. He was so distracted by both the subtle and blatant _fishing _that Erik was doing, he didn't go directly to tell Scott he was back. Not that he really had to - not when Scott was waiting for him.

"Things must have gone really well with Wanda and Vision," Scott said with a crooked smile. "Or … very badly?" His smile slipped as he took in James' expression. "What's wrong?"

James opened his mouth, then closed it as he tried to explain _how _it had gone wrong. "Magneto dropped in at dinner," he said finally, and continued before Scott could ask anything. "I don't think I pushed any buttons, but I also think that was because he was testing me? Trying to see how far he could push me, and … checking my tech knowledge. I don't know if he is aware of Tony's plans for me, though. I never told Billy what Tony has in mind, and I don't think he's ever mentioned anything around Billy." He looked up at Scott and held up both hands. "I didn't fall for any of Erik's games, but I couldn't just … _not answer him_ when he talked to me. He was doing this … fake calm and friendly thing but I could _smell _a change in the air."

Scott was quiet for a long time, though James watched his dad's frown deepen until it creased his forehead. "That," Scott said at last, "is a problem on multiple fronts. It tells me he's considering you on a better level than he did your parents, which would be good if he wasn't trying to make a play for you at the same time."

James sat down as he watched Scott pace. "Dad - I didn't give him anything to get fired up about," James said. "And I'm going to just … try to avoid him when I can. Billy had said he wanted to show me around himself tomorrow. That's one day that I think will be okay, anyhow."

"Yes, it's definitely wise to stay away right now," Scott agreed. He stopped pacing long enough to turn toward James. "Any other day, I would be proud when someone sees your genius and heart, James. You know that. But Erik has a way of treating people like pawns- and discarding them without a second thought. I'm not sure his attention is any better focused now than it was when he saw you as beneath him and Billy." He sighed. "That's reality with Magneto. It's always a chess game. _Always_. So please: be careful."

"I will," James promised. "I told Billy I wasn't going to rock the boat. But I'm not going to do anything to get you in trouble or screw over Tony either." James sighed and looked to his feet for a moment. "I know his opinion of me isn't going to change easily, if at all. This isn't a change of view."

"It is; he just thinks he's finding a _use_ for you," Scott said, his tone making it clear how much Erik's outlook bothered him. He shook his head and finally stopped pacing to lean against the wall. "I'm glad you got to meet Vision and see Wanda again, but James…" He sighed. "Well, I don't have to tell you this is dangerous. I know you're looking out for everyone. Just don't forget to look out for _you_ as well."

"I'll be fine, Dad."


	46. Just A Little Chess

_A/N - This is a little shorter than usual, but ... it's that or make it a gargantuan chapter, and I thought this was the better option._

* * *

**Chapter 46: Just A Little Chess**

The following morning, the Summers family made their way to breakfast together. After the way the night had gone for James, Scott wanted to stick a little closer to both of his kids where he could at least _feel _like he could keep them safe by proximity. But overprotective father aside, the truth was that with the substantial time zone difference, the family was jet lagged. Jet lagged, but still adjusting quickly enough. The three of them sat down to coffee as a group with Alex and Lorna laughing at how wiped out they all looked, though even with that, it was clear that James was the odd man out of the Summers clan. Scott and Rachel looked unrested, but they had at least slept a little. James - was not entirely awake with his hair sticking up slightly here and there after having been up most of the night anyhow. He sat down next to Rachel and promptly leaned his head on her shoulder while holding his cup of coffee close to himself.

"Are you even awake?" Rachel teased.

"Trying to be," James muttered with his eyes closed, though that had Scott smirking to himself. If there was any area where James was utterly unlike his father, it was his preference to sleep in when given a chance. And he had no shame about it, either. It also didn't hurt that James leaning on his sister helped her to relax a little too. Just a bit of normalcy for them in a strange country.

"You're not trying very hard," Rachel said as she leaned her head on his. "What's the plan today?"

"I dunno," James muttered, eyes closed and his face just over his mug, inhaling the fumes. "Ask Billy."

"I was," she chuckled, prompting James to pick his head up and crack an eye open as Billy took the seat next to him then kissed his cheek.

"Just going to go to my favorite places," Billy answered, smiling at Rachel. "Are you going to work on your tan?"

"Possibly," Rachel conceded. "Though it'll probably be whatever Uncle Alex has in mind."

"Which is passing the buck on saying 'beach time'," James said, to which Scott grinned and nodded.

"I hope you'll find the time to discuss the laboratories with me, young man," Erik said, and when the Summers family looked up, it was clear that Wanda had tried to stop him from breaking up their quiet morning. "You've had time to think over all that you saw. We can talk over chess - I'm sure Scott has taught you the basics."

"Yeah, he taught me a little. Like the horse is a dumb representation of a knight," James deadpanned before he took a sip of coffee and Rachel managed to control her grin.

"James should get a chance to wake up before you start pushing for chess, grandfather," Billy said. "And we have plans."

"Nothing that would take up the rest of the week," Erik pointed out.

"I really don't want to play any games. It's not really my thing," James said, though he still looked as if he was half asleep.

Erik looked irritated, but simply turned his sights to Scott instead for the moment. "What about you, Scott? Care to show the boy how it's done?"

Scott looked toward James and Rachel, quickly weighing out all possible outcomes. He didn't want to play Erik any more than James did, but he also knew Erik wasn't going to let the kid out of it. He needed to redirect Erik _away _from James in any way he could. "It's been a while," Scott warned.

"Nonsense," Erik said with a smile. "Charles taught you well. I'm sure you'll do wonderfully."

Scott hummed to himself and squeezed both of his kids' shoulders as he stepped around them to keep Erik occupied. He knew James hadn't _slept _by how tired he was - and having him play him while he was only half awake wouldn't do any of them any favors. James' inner filter would be _off _entirely if he was tired - something he'd inherited from his mother that would only come back to bite them.

He sat down across from Erik with a tight sort of smile. "It's been years since I played," Scott said as he got comfortable.

"Yes, but I'm sure you remember the rules of engagement," Erik said, smiling more warmly. He gestured to the board, and Scott nodded once. It had always been this way for the Professor when the two of them had played chess as well. Erik preferred for someone else to open. The professor had explained it years ago … a simple tactic that was Erik's measure of how easy it would be to beat his opponent.

But Scott had learned from Professor Xavier long ago. He knew what Erik was up to. He knew his games, and he knew how Erik liked to play.

Three moves into the game and Erik was smiling to himself. "My boy, it seems as though you haven't missed a step in all this time."

"Hard to forget the basics," Scott said, then not two moves later, he purposely missed a vital move that might have won him the game outright. Erik had seen the mis-step and smiled to himself, though he didn't _say _anything. Not when he was so pleased, generally speaking.

James still looked asleep as he switched from leaning on Rachel, to leaning on Billy's shoulder to Wanda's utter amusement. The two of them looked content and relaxed, and the fact was that Scott had managed to distract Erik thoroughly enough that the boys were comfortable and holding hands - and Billy was openly tickled.

But Scott wasn't going to just let Erik win. That simply wasn't in his nature. He _couldn't_. So, he rallied, and he managed to get to a point that Erik had to work for it. Even then, the game ended in a draw. There was no clear way for either of them to win, and that seemed to entertain Erik almost as much as a win. "I can't say that anyone's been able to do that since … well, _Charles_."

Scott swallowed hard and nodded once. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"That is how I meant it," Erik said gently, then lowered his voice almost to a whisper. "Well done, my boy." Scott smiled tightly and blew out a breath as both men got control of their emotions. "Now. Send the boy over," Erik said to Scott.

"I don't know if that's the best idea," Wanda said, trying to redirect her father slightly. It was clear that she didn't want a game to happen between the two of them, and even Billy was looking tense at the idea of it.

"James," Erik said in a more stern tone. "The board is set, my boy."

Billy opened his mouth to argue, and James gave him a squeeze. "It's okay," he said quietly before he raised his voice. "I really don't want to play." But he was already on his way to where Scott had been sitting just moments ago. He looked down at the board, but didn't sit down.

"I insist," Erik said as James frowned at him _and _his chess board.

"You _don't _have to play him, James," Wanda promised - a sentiment that was plainly echoed by the remainder of both Billy's family and the Summers in attendance. Which was exactly the protective move that had James determined not to use the buffer they were trying to give him.

"No, that's fine," James said as he took a seat then looked across the board at Erik, irked that he'd pushed Scott into a game _he _didn't want to play either. "Little unrealistic, don't you think?"

"What's unrealistic about it?" Erik asked, frowning, though James didn't drop his gaze or blink.

"The fact that you want me to open. I don't start confrontations."

Erik looked shocked, but Rachel did a fine job of keeping her smile under control while Scott looked like he was holding his breath.

"Neither do I. All the same, someone has to open," Erik said, gesturing at the board.

James finished his coffee then nodded once. "If that's what you want," he said before he reached out to open with the most aggressive intro he could think of - a Danish gambit that resulted in Erik quickly capturing two pawns but also opened himself up to a wicked attack that James took advantage of.

Erik responded in turn, obviously pleased to have _two _crafty players to contend with, though he honestly hadn't had James pegged for a worthy opponent. The game moved quickly for several rounds, with Erik looking pleased as he captured more important pieces and was even prepared to chide James on his game … until he realized he was playing himself into a corner. All while James calmly kept pushing Erik into sacrificing one piece after another to protect his king.

As the game progressed, Wanda drifted over to watch with Billy - both of them becoming more entertained as they watched Erik get more defensive and flustered while James calmly kept up his steady assault. When Erik tried to quiz James on his role with Stark and the Avengers, James calmly and quietly told him that _legally _he wasn't at liberty to discuss the finer details - which seemed to irritate Erik further. Scott crossed his arms as he stood behind James with a proud smirk knowing that James had Erik moving exactly how he wanted him to. Which was about when the checking started.

"You're doing well for someone who didn't want to play" Erik said, moving his king after James checked him.

"It's really not a game I like to play," James said, then moved a bishop one square over. "Check."

Erik frowned, and took a moment to reroute his strategy. But it was already over. With every check, Erik got more desperate for a better move until James finally forced checkmate with the pawns he had left on the board and his bigger pieces still well protected and out of reach. There was no way out of it. James simply sat back waiting for Erik to admit defeat. The fact that he managed to keep a straight face after winning with _pawns _instigating the final moves had Scott smiling wider and Rachel trying not to laugh outright.

"It seems we've come to an impasse," Erik said slowly.

"That's one way to put it," James agreed, though he crossed his arms and raised one eyebrow waiting for the concession.

"Perhaps another game, then," Erik said instead of simply conceding that he'd lost.

"Do you want to try starting white this time?" James said in an even tone that managed to sound friendly in a way Logan never could have pulled off. "Might be more in your wheelhouse."

"Maybe later," Wanda said, reaching over to rest her hand on James' shoulder with a smile. "Daddy, the boys had plans for the day. I'm sure you can find time to play another game before Scott and his family end up leaving."

"Of course," Erik agreed, sitting back and frowning at the board, to the Summers family utter amusement even as BIlly pulled James away from the game and out of the palace.

Billy didn't bother stopping until they were in the courtyard. And then, he only stopped James long enough to steal a very involved kiss and break into a laugh. "You won with his least favorite pieces forcing him into checkmate." Billy was grinning broadly. "How far ahead did you plan that?"

"After the fifth turn," James replied. "Thought it might be funny."

"He'd be so mad if he knew your long game was anywhere near that long."

James' smile slipped. "Are you going to keep telling him everything about us?"

"I … _haven't _ …" Billy stumbled on his words. "I didn't tell him _everything_… just … what was necessary to keep him at bay."

"For how long?" James asked, though to reassure Billy that he wasn't _mad_, he reached out to take Billy's hand.

"More in the beginning," Billy admitted after a long moment. "But I didn't say anything about where you live or what exactly you do at the tower … which … what does he have you doing?"

"I'll tell you all about it when we try out that new Kurdish place in the city," James said, then smiled crookedly. "If you want to go with me, that is."

"Are you sure you're not mad?" Billy said, almost cringing.

"No," James promised. "I'm actually kind of impressed with your spy skills. Has to be a better application for that though."

"So … does this mean you still want to go with me to my favorite spots on Genosha?" Billy asked quietly.

"Sweetheart, I still want to go with you to your favorite places _anywhere_," James said with a crooked sort of smirk. "Maybe we can find a few places of our own to make memorable in the process."

Billy started to smile. "I like the sound of that."

"Thought you might."

"So … if we're still on for just you and me today, then … why are we still here?"


	47. The Whole Truth

_**A/N - Practically An Avenger - HI THERE! I KNOW. We need more Billy and more America and more of all of our amazingly fantastic LGBTQ characters. But not just in June. All. The time. Forever. Though I can't promise a boatload of more of them this MONTH ... because lets be real, the month got away from me ... I can promise I'm WORKING on more of them. Does that count? In the meantime, here - Have a gut punch. **_

* * *

**Chapter 47 - The Whole Truth**

* * *

It was the day the Summers clan was set to leave the island when Scott slipped into James' room and dropped the bug into his lap.

"How?" Scott said, only not raising his voice because they were in Erik's home, "_How _did you get this past his scanners?"

"No metal," James said, matching his volume and meter before he held his gaze for a moment and then turned to go back to packing.

"You bugged me."

"You've been shutting everyone out. We're all worried."

"You _bugged _me." Scott narrowed his eyes. "How long?"

"Just since the dinner with all the shouting. I turned it off remotely after that. That's all it was for. I didn't want to hear anything else."

Scott frowned at that and then ran both hands over his face. "James…" He let out a breath. "I told you I came here to see how bad it was. Whatever you heard…"

"Don't worry, Dad. I won't do it again."

"James, I wouldn't betray the professor's dream," Scott said.

"Okay."

"I just want you to know - whatever you heard-" Scott let out a breath when he realized James was giving him the same sort of flat expression Logan had given him countless times when they disagreed or when Logan didn't think Scott was listening to him. "I love you. I'm just trying to make sure this doesn't explode on you now that you're all X-Men."

"Maybe this isn't the right place to talk about all this," James said, keeping the quiet, flat tone.

"James, I've done this before. The cameras and mics think you're still asleep."

"Still. You're right. There was a lot that I really shouldn't have heard that we'll probably need to discuss at some point. But I don't trust the moody tech around here."

Scott let out a sigh. "James…"

James got to his feet and reached into his pocket to hand Scott a few panic buttons. "I thought you might want to give them to Bobby, Kitty, and Alex. All things considered. Billy's mom can handle herself just fine, and I don't think Lorna is in any danger."

Scott opened his mouth to say something and then closed his eyes and nodded. "Right."

James watched him for a moment before he took the last few steps to give him a hug, since it was clear he needed it. "This is all a lot harder for everyone when you don't talk to us. Especially when I can see and smell how stressed out you are."

"I'm sorry."

"No," James said. "I'm sorry for making you this stressed out. I've been dragging down a lot more trouble than I normally do for you _and _for Tony."

"James, no," Scott said. "This … I'm stressed because I've been a mess for years. This is _not _your fault. You and Rachel and Nate are old enough to make your own decisions, and I've always told you there's nothing you could do that would make me love you any less. That's still true. You know that."

"Maybe, but it doesn't help when you hate everything else more."

"It's just that-" Scott took a deep breath and let it out. "You kids are my whole world. I'm struggling to adjust to adult children, clearly. That's my fault, not yours. You can't _not _age."

James frowned at that. "I'm pretty sure _that's _not your fault."

"It's _not _yours," Scott said firmly.

"Are those the only choices?" James asked.

Scott almost couldn't help but smirk. "No. I think we can safely lay the blame at the feet of Graydon Creed."

James nodded at that and sighed heavily as the tension in the air really hadn't lessened at all. He clenched his teeth hard, then worked his jaw, grinding his teeth in frustration before he looked up at Scott. "Dad … I think it's time for the rest of that story."

Scott blinked at James as the realization hit and the memory of all that was thrown back and forth between himself and Magneto came rushing to the front of his mind. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know that I don't know what I should."

Scott let out a long breath, and when he spoke, his voice didn't hold even half of the volume or timber it usually did. "What do you want to know?"

James swallowed and frowned deeply. "I think … I think I need you to walk me through it. All of it."

Scott met James' gaze and then dropped it. "Alright," he said softly. "You're old enough now…" He took a deep breath to steady himself, though the shake as he did so was a giveaway on how unsteady Scott was to talk about it. Even after all this time. "It all came down to Graydon Creed. He hit the school while the team was gone. We weren't there to protect our families, and he killed Jubilee when she tried to shield you kids," he said, his gaze never leaving the ground. "You have to understand… that was the beginning of the end for Logan. Jubilee was like a little sister or a daughter to him. When she was new to the team, he used to call her his lifeline. And he meant it. Seeing her like that…" He closed his eyes as James frowned deeper on hearing the wording.

"Graydon Creed showed up with Mia in his arms. She was only a year old," Scott said, the anger still clear to hear in his tone at the memory. "If we didn't surrender, he'd kill you. All of you. What choice did we have?"

"None," James breathed out, wide-eyed at how quickly the story was spiraling downward.

Scott nodded, looking perfectly miserable. "Once he had us captive, he did everything he could to torture us. You know how Ororo is with small spaces… and your mother… she was just as seasoned as your father in being tortured, but we could hear her screaming and swearing in Swedish. They didn't stop long enough to let her think, which is why when Graydon sent her and Kurt to kill Magneto's Brotherhood, the best plan she could come up with to call Magneto for help was to kill Pietro. She knew it would get him running and that he'd tear everything apart to find us."

"I didn't know that," James said quietly.

"She didn't want Graydon to get his hands on Pietro," Scott said softly. "Graydon ordered her to leave one alive, presumably so he could use them down the road, and she didn't want the only one of that group with a shred of decency to get destroyed and tortured like we were. _And he would have been_. You have to understand - your mother had a knack for finding loopholes even when she and Kurt couldn't disobey orders."

"Or he'd hurt us kids," James finished.

Scott nodded. "He had a kill switch on Rachel," he said. "She was in Kindergarten." He let the statement hang in the air between them for a while as he tried to control his emotions before he cleared his throat to continue on. "Graydon was testing the rest of us to see our limits. He threatened to dry Bobby out and beat him to death if- if Logan didn't beat him down instead. It was the only way to save Bobby's life, you have to understand. If he hadn't done it, Bobby -" Scott broke himself off.

"You don't know that," James said, barely shaking his head no. "It was a threat from a lunatic."

"No, James," Scott said, his voice catching more than before, and then he leaned over, his head in his hands as he tried to get a hold of himself. "God, he ran the same racket with me," he breathed out. "He - James, he told me - I had to - but I _couldn't _bring myself to hurt the professor," he said, his voice sounding smaller with every word as his shoulders started to shake, and he was talking into his hands. "I _couldn't."_

Dawning comprehension lit up James' face as he held his breath listening to Scott. "Dad, no."

"They killed him. I couldn't - I couldn't save him and they-"

"That wasn't …. You couldn't have changed that," James said in a whisper.

"I could have done what Logan did," Scott said miserably. "Bobby looked worse than he was. It was all well-placed… Bobby walked out of that place, James. He lived because your father knew well enough on how to make it look bad. But I _couldn't_ hurt the professor. I couldn't do it, and they killed him and -" He took a breath that hitched horribly. "And I barely had time to breathe before they brought Logan in. I couldn't even _think _until Graydon explained … He had you in the other room and Logan…" He shook his head.

"Wait. You lost your sight because of …" James stopped himself, unable to say out loud what he knew was the case, even as he rested one hand over his heart.

"I lost my sight because I couldn't hurt the professor," Scott said. "Graydon was clear on that much. I wouldn't use my powers for him, so he wouldn't let me keep them."

"But he didn't threaten to kill you for it."

"No," Scott said. "I never understood that. I don't know if he was trying to torture Jean when he was rightly afraid of approaching her directly or if he was building the misery on Logan making him do it so soon after he beat Bobby or if he thought it would be too kind to kill me…"

"Probably all of it," James said.

Scott nodded, almost numb by that point. "After that… I can only tell you what happened that I heard or that the others told me," he said. "He sent K and Kurt to capture his father - and that… that was the beginning of the end. Victor Creed … _Sabretooth _was a sadist, and he _hated _your father for being better than he was. He had been threatening to kill everyone Logan loved for longer than Logan could remember."

"Why hadn't Logan killed him?" James asked, frowning.

"They… were fairly evenly matched," Scott admitted. "There were times Logan would barely escape a fight. And the times he won…" He paused. "Logan lived and breathed the dream too, James. I know what the reports say, but he wanted to be better. And he was a samurai at heart. He tried to be merciful."

"No, I believe you," James said, deciding to try and give Scott a little peace of mind. "A while ago - right around my birthday, actually- Billy ran a spell for me. I was really struggling with … everything. It was kind of a gift. It - he helped me to remember whatever memories were just too … " James took a moment to try to control the shake in his voice that came when he'd think about those memories. "It was from when I was too little to remember it myself. And I _saw_ how they were with me. You undersold it, Dad."

Scott let out a sound and then grabbed James to pull him tightly into a hug. "You've been so loved your whole life, James. I just wish you had them."

"Me too," he admitted for the first time since he was very small. "But I have _you_. And I don't know where I'd be without you."

Scott held on a little tighter, and the two of them stayed that way until Scott had a better hold of himself. "Right," he said, clearing his throat. "I'm sorry. I was… where?"

"Everything was awful."

"That's the whole story," Scott said, then nodded to himself. "But… Victor Creed was what tipped the scales. I've told you about carbonadium, right?"

James nodded. "Avoid."

"Creed had a carbonadium knife," Scott said.

"What?" James said, blinking at him for a long moment.

"He came to where we were being held with a _plan_ in place. Graydon Creed might have captured us, but his father was the one to destroy us," Scott said.

"He …he had to wait until they were locked up before he even …"

Scott nodded. "Exactly. He came knowing none of us could stop him, and he let himself into your mother's cell _first_." He paused. "I don't know exactly what happened. I couldn't see it. But I could hear it and… James, she fought him so hard. And he … he did everything he could to make sure your father saw her suffer."

James was very still as he listened to the story, though his hands were in fists at his sides.

"Eventually, he killed her, and then your father reached through the bars when Sabretooth got close enough to him while he was gloating. Logan took his head off," Scott said almost dully.

"Good."

Scott nodded. "And if that had been all, that probably would have been the end of it," he said, slowly, carefully. "We would have mourned. Your father would have been a wreck. But he'd lost women he loved before … _we'd _lost people but-" He took a deep breath. "We'd never lost a child before. Victor Creed only managed to get a hold of your mother by telling Logan that his son was begging for him when he died." He looked up at James. "It wasn't a lie. They would have picked that up too fast. It was just a different son."

James was holding his breath by that point and very gently shaking his head.

"His name was Akihiro. From Logan's marriage before your mother. They didn't have a good relationship… Logan thought he was dead, but years later Akihiro came back brainwashed into hating him. We didn't even _know _he'd been caught, but Graydon had been using him to learn how to kill a healer. We think it was so he could learn how to kill his father." Scott shook his head. "It wasn't a lie. So… there we were, half of us still in our cells. Logan had _just_ lost K _and he thought _he'd lost you and…James, the two of you were his whole world. In all the years I knew him, he was never as happy as when he had you two." He couldn't hold James' gaze and was trying to keep going, but it was obvious he was on the brink of breaking down. "I'm so sorry, James. If I could have _seen_ him, I could have stopped him. I _should_ have stopped him, and I'm so sorry."

"No," James said, shaking his head.

"_That's_ what made Jean lose control," Scott said in a breath of a whisper. "Losing the professor… seeing me hurt and blinded… losing _you, _losing K, losing Logan … You were _three _years old. It was so senseless."

James didn't bother to wipe the tears off as he listened to Scott. He wanted to reply. He knew he should, he just … didn't know _how_.

"I couldn't get her back, James. I couldn't talk her down. She was so wrapped up in grief, even when she saw you were alive… it just made losing Logan so much more _pointless _and I couldn't … I tried everything. I tried to remind her of our kids, of you, of Mia… I tried _everything _and Kurt had to kill her when I couldn't and-"

James moved over to pull Scott into another tight hug. "If the tables had been turned, and it was you that had lost all of that and been lied to about Rachel and Nate… it's not your fault," James said in a hushed whisper.

Scott buried his face in James' shoulder. "I'm so sorry," he breathed out.

"Why are you sorry?" James asked, though he hadn't stopped crying either. "After all that - after _everything_, you took care of us. _Alone_."

"I had to keep you safe," Scott said.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to do it alone," James said, shaking his head. "I'm glad you did. I am. But you took on all of us - and you _didn't _have to deal with me. I know you didn't. One of the others would have taken me, and it could have been _so much _easier for you."

"You're my godson," Scott said. "There was no way I'd let you go without. I knew who would come for you kids. You couldn't go to someone who wasn't prepared."

"That's why you had Natasha around sometimes," James said. "Your security expert."

Scott nodded. "That's why I kept you away from the teams," he said. "I … I'm sorry. It was the only thing I could think of that would take you out of my protection…"

"I get it," James said. "Please don't apologize for that or anything close to it. You have _always _done everything you could to take care of us and keep us safe. We know that. _I _know that. But there's a lot that no one knows."

"I didn't want anyone to try to tear their memories down because they lost hope."

"And I did that myself," James said.

"I would have told you when you first started looking if it was anything easier to tell you," Scott said.

"No, when you didn't want to tell me, I knew it had to be bad," James said. "There's no good way to tell someone that their parents died in a murder and suicide. Especially when I was how they got there." He looked down at his hands as he finished his statement. "He had to have tried it before. To have gotten it done."

"I thought the same thing," Scott said. "And he had. I … looked into a few things while you were still young. I hadn't realized how much Logan had struggled with those thoughts. I didn't know ..."

"So that's something I need to know and be aware of," James said, then quickly held up one hand. "Just that he did it. Not … the details on how."

Scott nodded and scrubbed both hands over his face as he tried to get himself back together. "Yeah."

The two of them were quiet for a long moment as they tried to get control of themselves. "We heard what you said about what we meant to you," James said. "You have to know the reverse is true, too. Not one of us can stand the thought of anything happening to you, either."

"I'm sorry you had to listen to me talking to Magneto, then. That was-"

"That wasn't just talk," James said, shoring up his voice a little. "I love you, and you're great at a lot of things, but you're _not _that good of an actor."

"All lies are based on truth," Scott said. "That was the route Kitty and I knew would work. I'm a tired, worried father."

"At the very end of your rope, too," James said before he leaned forward to catch Scott's gaze. "Dad, if my working on this team is going to send you anywhere _near_ where _Logan _was, I will quit right now and _never _look back."

Scott blinked at James and then grabbed him around the shoulders to yank him into a hug. "I love you too."

* * *

Once James and Scott had slightly better holds on their emotions, it was, in fact, time to head out, so they rounded up Rachel and the twins to leave. Scott made sure to hug Kitty and Bobby both on the way out - and leave them with panic buttons and bugs. But what they weren't expecting was for Erik to actually come to see them off himself.

"I hope you know that you're welcome back here at any time," Erik said, much more amenable than he had been before - though that in itself was suspicious and suggested he either thought he had the upper hand or had some kind of plan to gain it. "I enjoyed our short time together. Our chess games were incredibly insightful. I'd love to find a way to make it a more regular occurrence."

"That might be nice." Scott nodded, one hand on James' back as they boarded the jet. "You know, Alex has invited me back a few times too," he said.

"Perhaps you'll consider coming for the summer," Erik said mildly. "I would be interested to see all three of your children outside of the teams they're on."

Everyone paused at that, and even Wanda, who was giving Tommy one last, lingering hug stopped to watch Erik for a moment.

Finally, it was Scott who said, "We'll think about it," while pushing James slightly behind him in an entirely unconscious move. "It'll depend on Nate's football training schedule."

"And ... I have my Stark contracts," James said.

"I'm sure you'll find your arrangement with Tony Stark to be more flexible than you _believe it_ to be, my boy," Erik said before he smiled warmly at Billy, who did a fine job of keeping Erik's mood even in spite of the threat hidden in Erik's words.

Scott nodded. "We'll consider it. If nothing else, I might come back for Alex's birthday." He smiled tightly. "Thanks again for your hospitality," he said, turning to leave with James, though it wasn't until they were in the jet that he said under his breath just for James, "You kids are _not _coming back. That was an invitation to stay permanently."

"Not surprised," James said softly. "Especially after his little lab tour. You shouldn't be coming back either then."

"I told you I'm working with Kitty. If I come back here, it'll be to put a stop to him. I'm _not _planning to stay that long."

"Just needed to clarify," James said.

"Love you too," Scott said quietly before he let out a breath and then went to where Rachel was to nudge shoulders with her and then pull his arm around her in a hug, showing a lot more life than he had on the way to Genosha.

James had managed to slip into the single jumpseat near the emergency exit and was already half drawn up on himself, which left Billy wondering what he'd missed as he gave James a little room to process whatever it was that had him looking like _that_. Even if he wanted to try and help somehow. But instead of upsetting him further, Billy turned his sights to the rest of the Summers clan for answers.

"You're _waaay _more fun on a mission," Billy said to Scott from across the way as he and Tommy found their seats - somewhat close to James for when he did finally look like he was willing to talk.

"I am?" Scott replied, one eyebrow raised his way.

"Seriously," Billy said, nodding with a grin. "This family is the _best _for ticking off Gramp-neto."

"Do you really call him that?" Scott asked, amused despite himself.

"He hates it," Billy said. "So yes. Sometimes."

"I thought you two were close. You seriously don't get along with him, do you?" Rachel asked, frowning, since she couldn't imagine not getting along with her family.

"We are close," Billy said, then shrugged. "It really is hard to defend him when he's being like that, though. He doesn't really get along with anyone most of the time, honestly," Billy said. "He can be amazing, sometimes, but most of the time it's just reminding you of what kind of a disappointment you are if you're not following his orders to the letter."

"Or - how much you look or _act _like someone else," Tommy said, waving the tips of his fingers. "He's called me 'Pietro' almost as much as he does 'Thomas'."

"Ah, well, that part is at least normal," Scott said. "I've almost called a few people by the wrong name myself."

"Anyone you want to fess up to?" Billy asked with an amused glint in his eyes.

"Not particularly," Scott said with a smirk before he turned Billy's way. "But for the record, you're not a disappointment. If he thinks so, he doesn't see what I see. Why do you think I'm glad you're dating James?"

"That … is an interesting question," Billy said.

Scott smiled and then took a few steps over to put a hand on Billy's shoulder. "Wanda, can I borrow your kid?" he teased.

"Oh, that … isn't as funny as you think it is," Billy laughed.

"Sure it is," Scott said. "Besides, we all know she could destroy me in a blink if she wanted, so she's not worried."

"She's pretty relieved, if you want to know the truth," Billy admitted.

"Really?"

"Sure. Good influences - get us away from the whole insistence that we're treated like royalty wherever we go?"

Scott smiled and ducked his head so their conversation was more private. "You're a good influence too," he said quietly. "James told me what you did for him."

"He did?" Billy said, whisper quiet, glancing over to where James was curled in on himself and looking out his window.

"Mmhmm. That spell let him see his parents for who they were … that's something I've tried to do for him his whole life. I can't tell you how important that was for him."

Billy blushed. "It seemed like the right thing to do."

Scott nodded, and instead of saying anything else, he simply pulled Billy into a tight hug.


	48. Stateside Fiascoes

**Chapter 48 - Stateside Fiascoes**

* * *

The instant that the jet landed in Westchester, Tommy was out the door like a shot. As far as he was concerned, he'd spent _far _too much time around his brother and his _moody _broody sweetheart. He would _much _rather spend time with his girlfriend - who was an adventure and a half all on her own.

He was already planning to run them somewhere remote so they could catch up - though he had to get past Storm first. And that lady was scary good at knowing when he was around. Tommy was _sure_ Psylocke was helping conspire against his idea of fun.

He figured he'd talk to her first, conveniently not tell her where they were going, and kidnap Mia for some fun. Foolproof.

So, he zipped into Storm's office in the middle of what looked like boring paper grading nonsense - so of course she was glad for the distraction. He knew she was. "Hey, so, my grandfather doesn't like independent thought and totally invited the Summerses over to make them stop having it - are you gonna finish that?" He grabbed up the half-eaten sandwich and gulped it down. "Oh, and did you know Cyclops is playing some long chess game of mind tricks with Grandfather? Because he's kinda freaking us all out."

"I had wondered what the sudden draw to Genosha was about," Ororo replied. "Though to be honest, I thought he might have been considering moving there, finally."

Tommy shook his head. "No way. He and the ex-X-Men on Genosha are conspiring. My mom knows something too but won't tell us. Pretty sure they're getting ready to overthrow him, if you ask me." He shrugged. "Or try to get him to reverse course. Mom tries a lot - I mean a _lot_ \- so this may be some last-ditch stop-being-crazy scheme…"

"You can't use a term like 'crazy scheme' in conjunction with Cyclops; that's just not Scott." Storm shook her head. "But I can see him trying to help your mother get Erik to reverse course - if that is indeed what he's doing, it's not a crazy scheme. So … why don't you tell me what you've learned since the last time we spoke since it _sounds _like you are speculating."

Tommy grinned and dove into his update, telling her how the kids had all been watching what the adults were up to and wanted to help if they could. How he and Billy knew their grandfather was wrong about humans and were getting in trouble for it. How he was _pretty _sure he had witnessed Scott officially welcome Billy into the family with a hug.

"So, yeah. It's us versus Grampneto," he summed up. "Which, I gotta warn you, is gonna make this harder. If Grandfather thinks we're turning against him, I don't know if he _can _be talked down. He likes the family to fall in line." He rolled his eyes. "It sucks, you know that?"

"I know that far too well to deny," Ororo replied. "Thank you, Tommy, for telling me what my old friend may be up to. I do appreciate it." Ororo took a hold of his arm before he could zip off. "The curfew is still the same, Mr. Maximoff. The other rules are also still in effect. Please keep that in mind."

"No exceptions for the super spy?" Tommy grinned brilliantly. "Not even a little bit?"

"Half an hour past curfew," Ororo said finally. "And welcome back. I'm glad to see you."

"Good to be home," Tommy told her, completely missing the importance of his casual statement as he rushed off to say hi to Mia, even though Ororo caught it and was smiling despite herself to hear that Tommy considered the school home.

* * *

As soon as Billy and James had said their much more conventional goodbyes, the Summers family headed back toward the city in Scott's car. Rachel was in the front with her father and James was half-leaned over in the back, still deep in thought. And Scott was lost in his own thoughts as well, digesting all he'd seen on Genosha.

He didn't like _any _of what he'd seen, if he was honest. But seeing how Erik treated his James… he knew he'd have to step in. He needed to formulate a plan. He needed _time_. When he'd first agreed to work with Kitty, he'd thought this would be his last hurrah, one last play at being an X-Man, but after all he'd talked to James about, he was _trying _to be more careful…

All while shielding himself from all _three _of his kids. They didn't need to know what he was planning. Not the full extent of it. He still remembered how upset James had been over what he'd found about Logan's participation in X-Force. The last thing Scott wanted to do was give him another reason to think his parents were dirty - only this time, it would be Scott himself playing dirty.

So, the car ride was quiet, even if Scott could feel Rachel gently brushing the edges of his mind to test whether or not he'd let her in. Which meant that their loud greeting from Nate and Kate both was almost jarring.

"Oh my _god_, you picked the worst cockblocker in the _world_ and we were only _kissing_ you _overbearing so and so!_" Kate declared as soon as she saw Scott.

Scott smirked at Warren. "Nice job."

"I almost forgot how much I loved doing that," Warren laughed before he pulled Scott over for a tight hug. "Glad to see you guys managed to escape. Sure you weren't ready to take up the room next to Alex and Lorna?"

"And listen to Magneto butcher the professor's dream at every dinner? Sounds like a dream," Scott replied without missing a beat.

"Every one?" Warren said, cringing.

"Sometimes at breakfast too," Rachel put in helpfully.

"He stopped that pretty quick," James added as he handed Rachel her bag from the back. "He had to shut up to play Dad, after all."

"Sounds awful, but did we mention we spent the week with Moodkiller Supreme?" Kate said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder at Warren. "Because that bears repeating."

"That sounds awful. How did you _ever _survive?" James deadpanned just to get a rise out of Kate.

"We didn't. I'm dead. You're talking to a ghost, James," Kate said seriously, and Nate snorted.

"If that were true, I'm sure Aunt Nat would have been over to set Warren straight but … clearly, they weren't concerned about imminent death from not gettin' any," James said.

"If that were the case, Tommy would have died _months _ago," Rachel said with a smirk.

"Tommy has been sneakier than you know," Kate said, not spilling _all _the secrets when the adults were around.

"Yeah, but not as sneaky as he'd like to be," James said before he pushed her shoulder.

"Anyway, how was Genosha?" Nate asked. "You didn't get branded 'prince consort' or something, right?"

"You're _hilarious_," James said. "It was hot. And sunny. And you missed out on Alex's version of a tour." he shrugged carelessly. "Nothing notable, really."

"Darn. I was hoping you had nightmare tales of the grandfather cockblocker," Kate said dryly.

"Um … not anything worth repeating," James said, turning away from the conversation. "Dad's probably got more to say about that." He didn't feel much like sharing, and truth be told, he'd teased about as much as he could stomach anyhow. And he really didn't feel like talking about Magneto. At all.

"I'm not in the mood to comment on my sons' love lives," Scott said dryly. "Other than to tell Warren 'job well done,'" he added, smirking at his old friend.

"Cowardly," Warren said with a laugh. "And what sounds like an admission that you weren't thinking about _that_." Warren grinned wider. "Unless you thought Wanda _wasn't _going to get in Erik's face about being … himself."

"Okay, that's enough, thanks," James said. "I don't know if you're advocating or just trying to rile, but that's _plenty." _

"He's been in a sickeningly good mood by wrecking ours," Kate stage-whispered to James.

James gave her a dry look. "Who could _ever _have predicted that a guy that goes by 'Angel' would get his rocks off by forcing celibacy on teenagers? I am not shocked nor offended."

"Because he wasn't bothering _you_," Nate said, which had Warren grinning wider.

"I love this family," Warren said as he reached out to muss up Nate's hair. "See you guys Friday night, Kate!"

"Don't listen to him," Rachel advised. "And - I brought you both something since you missed out on the sand, the sun, and the magically enhanced surf."

"See, _she _likes me," Nate said, smirking at his sister and putting an arm around her shoulders. "What'd you bring me?" he teased, even as Scott said goodbye to Warren and Kate and Nate helped get the bags inside.

As Warren started to head home, Rabbi Cohen swung by to check in. It was clear that he hadn't been expecting them to show up mid-morning. "Scott!" he called out when he saw the two older X-Men parting company just outside of the front door. "Welcome home."

"Thanks, Toby, it's a relief to be back," Scott said before he and Warren shared a fond smile and Warren headed out with his wings strapped down tightly under his trench coat. Scott looked over his shoulder as the sounds of his kids getting settled in echoed out onto the stoop. Nate was being … _Nate _about not having been able to see Genosha - and Rachel was teasing him about having missed out. Clearly, she'd missed her brother terribly. "We _just _got in, Toby…"

"I was hoping I could pin you down for a time to chat," Toby Cohen said, smiling warmly at him as he came up the steps.

Scott was hesitating, looking like he'd rather be just about anywhere else - especially since he needed to keep his focus on the task at hand … and he needed to see how much intel he could get about Genosha before he made a plan. "Now … isn't the best time," Scott said finally, not even hiding how distracted he was.

"What about later this week then?" Toby asked as James stepped into the doorway just beyond Scott.

"I can't … I don't know what the week is going to bring," Scott said, and he would have simply ditched with all the chaos inside if it wasn't for James blocking him from closing the door with a muted apology. Scott looked between James and Toby as James came outside and sat down on the front step. "I need to stop your brother and sister." He glanced at Toby, sure that he'd meet a brick wall with James as usual and the kid would gloss over a few things for Toby's sake. "I'll call you."

With that, Scott slipped inside and Toby let out a sigh, his shoulders dropping as he did so. "I suppose you won't tell me much about the trip then," Toby said as he sat down with James. The boy wasn't great for conversation unless he had to be, but he would be polite.

"Not on the stoop, no," James admitted - but it was a clear invitation compared to how James usually reacted and Toby's curiosity was piqued.

"Where _would _you like to chat then?"

James drew in a deep breath and considered him for a moment. "I … don't really want to worry you," James started to say. "But … if you have time, I think I do need to talk to someone - and I would rather it was you instead of one of the Avengers or Dad's old team." He paused and corrected himself. "What's left of them, anyhow.

"Did something happen during the break?" Toby asked, his tone shifting to concern easily - especially since James, out of the three of the kids was the least likely to say _anything_, let alone open the conversation like _this_.

"Yes and no," James admitted, then glanced up and down the street. "I know it's paranoid -"

"Would you like to walk with me down to my office?" Toby asked quietly, though he was sure James was going to balk. So he was even more off guard when after a moment, the young man nodded slowly.

"Yeah. I'm just … let me text Dad. I'll bring him coffee when I go back."

Toby was nearly holding his breath as he watched James whip up the text to his father, but he realized as he watched him that he looked somehow _more _pale than usual … especially after seeing the glowing tans that Scott and Rachel were wearing. But it was such a big step, Toby didn't want to joke at the wrong moment and shatter whatever it was that was going on.

The two of them got to their feet and started down the road - James with his hands buried in the kangaroo pocket of his hoodie. He walked with his chin tipped down, but his eyes were watchful all the same. When they got to Toby's office, it took a few minutes for James to steel himself to open his mouth, and when he did, Toby was clearly _not _expecting any of what James had to say.

James started out by telling Toby that he'd been having trouble over the past few years, but he'd been trying to deal with it himself. He skipped over many of the details, but was sure to make it clear that for the longest time, James had been convinced that he was living on borrowed time. It was rare for him to talk that way at _all_, and it was clear that the admission had him anxious. But he was slowly pushing through what he thought was necessary information on _him _before he hit Toby with the pertinent details about his parents.

He told Toby about the twisted scenarios that had left Scott blinded and how his mother had caused a deeper rift between the team and Magneto - which he was sure was a point of contention now that he was dating Billy. James told him about his older brother that he didn't know had existed, and how that had facilitated how his mother had been murdered, and at that point Toby had to stop him and take a moment himself to process.

James folded his hands in his lap and swallowed hard as Toby got up and paced the room, covering his shock by starting up a pot of coffee and promising that he simply wanted ot make sure they had something to keep them going for a little bit. And the timing was good since James needed to reorganize his thoughts anyhow.

When the coffee was done - and both of them were holding a mug - James sighed heavily, and on Toby's urging, continued by telling Toby _how _his father had died after dealing with his mother's murderer. Before Toby could say a word, James looked up and held his gaze. "I know I was already high risk," James said. "And before you ask, no. I have never had a plan and I'm not tempted now. But it made everything sort of fall into place when I heard the full story."

"That doesn't make me feel any better, James. It only gives me more grounds to be concerned."

"I know," James agreed, both hands around the mug as he subtly drew in the steam rising up from the coffee it held as a means to soothe himself. "But I'm not done, Rabbi. I was there with Dad when Aunt Jean lost control. Apparently, I was what made her lose it."

"That's not true," Toby said. "It's just not true."

"But it is," James replied slowly. "I had no control over it, I know… I'm not delusional. But my being there put her over the edge, and she couldn't get it back after that. She might still be here if they _had _killed me." He kept his focus on the dark liquid in his mug. "I've seen Rachel panic. I've talked her down when she thought she was going to lose her control … a _little_. And knowing that sooner or later, one of those weapons programs will find me - and they will take me -"

"You don't know that they'd come, "Toby tried to reason.

"Yes, I do," James replied, looking up to hold his gaze finally. "I've seen the reports and the intel the Avengers have. They never quit looking. And there is a large number of them looking now. _More _in the past few months, actually. I'm not trying to argue probability though," James told him.

Toby sighed heavily and nodded gently. "How did spring break turn into hearing this story? If you tell me that Magneto told you-"

"Dad told me," James said. "Magneto just wants to keep me there so Billy won't want to stay _here_."

"And you're sure that's all Magneto wants from you?"

"I'm sure he'd figure something out … at least as long as Billy's interested. After that, though- all bets are off."

"I thought you boys were doing well?"

"I think we are," James said, then took a moment to set the coffee mug aside. "Rabbi Cohen … I don't want to be the cause of anything else falling apart. But it seems like it's just … going to happen sooner or later. I don't want my Dad to have to deal with it. I don't think he _can_ \- and I don't want my brother and sister to get caught because of me - or for Rachel to _slip_. Or Nate. He gets overlooked for how dangerous Rachel potentially can be, but Nate is _not _the weakest of the three of us."

"And what about Billy?"

James thought it over for a few seconds, keeping in mind the story Billy had told him about accidentally wishing his brother out of existence for a moment. "I think that Billy … _might _over react. But he's got a good support system-"

"So do you, James," Toby said before he reached over and rested a hand on his arm. James looked up at him and it was clear to Toby that there was _more_. "James …"

"I only found this out _after _Dad found the bug I planted on him."

"You're spying on your father?" Toby asked, sounding somewhere between surprised and impressed.

"Just the once," James replied quickly, one hand up. "And only because he's not _talking _to any of us. He's actively blocking Rachel and Nate from reaching him telepathically and we were worried about _him_."

Toby couldn't help the warm smile as it crept across his features. "He's worried about _you_."

But James shook his head at that. "No. It's more than that. He's trying to win Magneto's trust and he's _not _handling anything to do with us or him or … any of it well. I was mad to start, but-" he took a deep breath to settle himself out. "I offered to go back to how things were _before _we ... " he cleared his throat and tipped his head. He figured that Toby Cohen was smart enough to figure out who it was in the masks and uniforms, but he wasn't going to blow it on a technicality with his father or Natasha. Especially sine their strained approval was based on the kids keeping their identities secret. At least until they were busted. "I told him I'd do whatever it took if it made things easier for him, if it'd keep him from following in _my father's _footsteps." He held Toby's gaze for a long moment as the rabbi processed exactly what James was telling him.

"Do you think that's a possibility?" Toby asked quietly- carefully.

"I do," James said, looking _entirely _distressed about it, but then he hedged. "Maybe. I don't … after everything he went through to keep us safe, I don't …" He cut himself off again as he reached for the right sentiment, and Toby gave him the chance t find it without any guidance. "If he gives up, it'll be our fault."

"No."

"_Yes_," James insisted. "He wasn't this bad until we showed up with X-badges on our uniforms. It would absolutely be our fault."

"James," Toby said carefully. "I can understand how you would feel that way, but you can't hold the responsibility for someone else's choices."

"I know." He looked up to meet Toby's gaze. "Doesn't change how it feels though."

"True. But - now, we can start trying to talk _through _some of this. Starting with making sure that _you _are okay. I know you're not. You can't be after hearing those things. But you need to believe me when I tell you that none of that was your _fault_. On any level!"

James' mouth tightened up. "Rationally, I know that."

"But it's not about rationality," Toby agreed. "So. We know that you need to spend time with me … once a week?" James nodded almost reluctantly. "Maybe twice."

"If once isn't enough," James said finally - which had Toby smiling softly.

"If it was anyone else, I'd be asking for three, but I want to trust you to work on this. Especially since you brought it to me. That was very mature. So … we'll start with once a week and see how things go. We can meet here. Just like this. But I don't want you wandering around with those thoughts in your head and no tools to deal with them."

"That's why I wanted to talk to you," James admitted. "I wasn't _okay _on my own before all of this. I was hanging in there, but this … _changes _everything. I _know _my father fought with suicidal thoughts. And I know that explains a _lot _as far as how I've thought from time to time."

"I'm going to hope that knowing those things doesn't change everything in your perception, though," Toby said. "It doesn't change who _you _are. And it doesn't change the fact that your family and friends love you. So. Let's start there - and if, down the road, you want to bring one of them with you, we can do that, too."

* * *

When the news reported on an MRD attack against a mutant halfway house, the new group of X-Men didn't even have to discuss it before they'd grabbed their uniforms and met at the scene, not wanting to waste any time with a rendezvous when there were mutants getting pummeled like that.

"It's been _forever _since we did this," Mia said as she and Tommy were first to the scene and started rushing to get the people out. They weren't fully engaging the MRD - not yet - just trying to get people out of danger. So it was when the rest of the team arrived that the fight got interesting.

Nate and Rachel were working together to throw the MRD agents around - into each other and through walls. All to keep the MRD from any remaining mutants, and not at _all _because they were racist jerks that were asking for it both verbally and through the projected thoughts that the Summers kids could easily pick up.

Meanwhile, Kate and James were both working to coax a couple incredibly _young _mutants out of their hiding places - one was hiding under the stairs and another one in a closet.

When it was clear the kids weren't coming closer, James pulled his cowl off and relaxed his body language as he tried to coax the little boy under the stairs to come out. "It's okay, bud. We're not scary. I promise," James told him in a gentle tone and with a half smile in place.

The little guy looked up at James with a trembling lower lip. "I'm scared," he muttered into his knees.

"I'll bet you are. You know what? Me too," James said, smiling a little wider at him. He waved with the tips of his fingers. "I'm James. Wanna tell me your name so we can be friends?"

"I'm Ollie," the freckle-faced kid said quietly.

"Nice to meet you Ollie," James said as he offered him his hand. Ollie stared at it for a moment before he took James' hand and when he did, James was sure to gently shake it then let go. "This place _is _pretty scary. You want to go with me and get out of here, or would you rather say hi to my brother first?"

At that, Nate waved over his shoulder with a brilliant smile, and Ollie looked between them with a small frown. "Can you get my sister?" he asked James quietly. "I told her to hide, and she did, but I can't go without her. It's my _job _to keep her safe." His eyes welled up with tears, obviously scared of where his little sister might be in all this mess.

"I can find your sister for you Ollie. I'll make it _my _job to get her to you," James said, relaxing his shoulders more. "Do you know where she is?"

He nodded and pointed to a different room, close by where Kate was talking down another little girl. "She's in the pantry in the kitchen."

"Then I'll find her for you." James nodded and got to his feet. "Can you stick with my little brother, Ollie?"

"Uh-huh."

"Great," James said, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "Then I'll get your sister and you can both get out of this scary building."

Ollie smiled and then darted over to hug James. "Thanks," he whispered.

"No problem. We gotta watch out for our little brothers and sisters," James said as he returned the hug, sure to take a careful and deep breath to find the familial scent. Even if she was where Ollie said, it would help to find her _faster_. "You gonna be okay with my little brother, Ollie? He's kind of a dork sometimes." James said - if nothing else to be sure Nate had the kid's name.

Ollie nodded, but had a crooked smile in place. "I'm okay," he promised, and Nate picked him up and put him on his shoulders to get him out.

James smiled, but he didn't pull his cowl back on - not when he knew he was headed for another little kid. He waved at the little girl Kate was coaxing, earning himself a giggle from her then jogged down to the next room over and right away, he knew Ollie wasn't wrong. The scent of fear was thick in the air and it didn't take long to find the little girl hidden in a cabinet, peeking out of the door. He crouched down by the cabinet and knocked on the door, even going so far as to wait for her to open the door. She squeaked, but didn't close it and James tipped his head and smiled at her. "Hi," he said, doing what he could to sound friendly. "Are you Ollie's sister?"

The little girl nodded and as James reached for her, there was a deep _boom _that rattled the whole building, shaking the floor as bits of debris fell from the ceiling and a few things fell off the shelves. "Alright, come on, sweetheart," James said, holding his hands out to her. "Let's go find your big brother, huh?"

She was sucking her thumb, and it took a moment but she darted forward just a few seconds before a second explosion rocked the building a lot harder than the first. James curled around her as she let out a little terrified squeak and buried her face in his chest. "It's okay," James said. "I'll do everything I can to get you to your brother."

Nate had just set Ollie down outside when Kate came out carrying the little girl she'd coaxed out of the closet she'd been hiding in, and he grinned over at her. "That everyone?"

"Rachel's doing a sweep, but it looks like the little girl James went after is the last one," Kate said.

Nate nodded and turned to Ollie. "You gonna be okay with Hawkeye? She's alright, I promise."

Ollie nodded and took Kate's free hand, as Nate started back in the building to help the others deal with the MRD - only to get blown off his feet when the MRD tried to bring the building down with an explosion.

Nate let out a curse when he hit the ground, though before he could get his feet underneath him, a second explosion went off - and that one _did _bring the building down. Nate only had a second to cover his head and try to minimize the damage, but something hit him hard, and the next thing he knew, everything had gone black.

When the building came down, the X-Men were all trying to take stock of each other, and it only took Rachel a few seconds after the rumbling stopped to panic. She frantically reached out to find everyone, coughing and trying to see through the dust and debris long before it could disperse. The twins and Mia were okay… Kate was with some kids who were freaking out over the loud noises… _James? Nate? _Rachel was higher off the ground than she meant to be as she looked for her brothers. _Come on; answer me, please! _

When neither of them immediately answered, Rachel started to panic, flinging out one hand to start picking up the still-smoldering ruins of the building and search for the boys. _Guys, answer me! _she projected, unaware that some of the smoldering ruins hadn't been smoldering around her until she got close to them.

She lifted up part of the entryway and saw that her baby brother had been trapped underneath part of a wall. He was bloody, still, and covered in dust. Rachel touched down with panic and fire just behind her eyes, barely able to breathe until she found Nate's pulse. And then she nearly cried in relief. She was simply too upset to _think_.

Mia hit the button to call for Avengers backup and then teleported over to where Rachel was, her eyes wide. "Hey, um, you need to find James and also you're kind of on fire," she blurted out.

"What?" Rachel asked, and the fire behind her eyes turned tangible as she started to panic on realizing she had only found _one _brother. Frantically, she reached out searching for James.

_Rachel,_ James projected out to her _after _she managed to break through his psychic defenses without meaning to. _I'm okay. The little girl is okay. We're just pinned down pretty solid. _

_Oh thank God, _Rachel projected back. _Where are you? Nate's hurt. I - I'm freaking out, James. _

_Don't freak out, _he replied, his mental tone calm even if it was strained. _Everyone's safe, so just breathe and relax. I've got a beam and some debris on me. I'm stuck tight. I didn't get out of the pantry before it fell. So you're doing just fine._

_I'm on fire! _Rachel projected, clearly panicked.

_So maybe think about not doing that _or _find me so we can roast some marshmallows. It would be good for this little girl, who is barely keeping from crying because she's playing with my face. _

It was such an unexpected response that Rachel was surprised into a laugh - and that helped to calm her down at least enough that the fire was less intense and had pulled back to just her eyes. _Right. _Rachel smiled to herself as she reached out to brush the toddler's mind, entertained when she saw through her eyes how James was playing with her - nipping at her hand when she covered his mouth.

_Seriously, Rach. Get some s'mores going. I can almost reach the graham crackers. But then I'd have to let go of this toddler, and she will definitely cry if I let her go right now. Pretty sure we're trying to avoid that kind of thing. _

_You're hilarious, _she said as she floated his way, following his mental signature and the little girl's giggles until she found where the two of them were. It took some work to telekinetically move some debris and lift up part of the wall and the beam that was on them. But it was easier to cope when the toddler was oohing and aahing over Rachel's powerset, even before she could see her.

When she finally moved a section of brick wall off of a beam, and she saw how James was curled around the little girl, she couldn't help but gasp. Especially when she saw how hurt James was - and still somehow managing to keep the toddler in his arms safe and blocked from getting hurt _or_ seeing his damage. "Ohmigosh."

"It's okay, sis. You didn't see anything," James said before he asked Liza to cover her eyes while he pulled himself free of where his leg had been stuck. "It doesn't count, Rach."

"Yes it does!" Rachel argued. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, it'll be fixed in no time," James said. "You know I'm fine."

"You crushed your leg!"

"And with the beam off, it's healing already," James said, even as the little girl held on tighter to him. "Buzzing like _crazy_."

Rachel shook her head and sat down in the rubble beside him, looking like her father as she ran her hands over her face to get a hold of herself - at least until the fires subsided a little. "That's never happened before," she breathed out.

"Yeah, what kicked it off?" James asked, grimacing as he made sure his leg was straight as much as he was able with the little girl clinging to him.

"Nate's hurt," Rachel said, looking up at James with panic but not fire in her eyes.

"So go check on him," James said. "Or ask Mia or Kate to if you're afraid you'll freak out again."

"I really am," Rachel said.

"Then _reach out_ to check and stay here with me and little Liza."

Rachel nodded, closing her eyes and trying to find the center that Betsy had shown her when they'd trained together. "Kate's babying Nate right now," she said after a long moment.

"Is that some kind of code I should be worried about?" James asked.

Rachel snorted. "No, it means she's stopping the worst bleeders and crying on him and-"

"Powdering his butt? I don't want to _hear _that, Rach."

She laughed again. "That's a mental image I _don't _need."

"_You're welcome_," James said, already shakily pulling himself up to test out standing, though he looked sick to his stomach as he did so, and he didn't let go of the chunk of concrete he'd used to get upright, with one arm around Liza the whole time. "I think I wrecked my uniform, sis," James whispered finally. "Jan is going to be so mad."

"No kidding," Rachel said. "Mia called for the Avengers, by the way."

"Good. That was what we said we'd do," James said. "How are the twins?"

"Tommy and Mia were with the mutants they rescued, so they're totally fine. Billy and Kate were closer to the blast, so they got a little singed and cut up, but also fine."

James nodded, testing his leg again before he took a few shaky steps from where he'd been. "Let's get Liza to her brother. Maybe we'll get lucky and find their parents."

Rachel nodded. "You lead the way. I'm just… going to keep thinking calm thoughts and make doubly sure the Phoenix is locked up where it needs to be."

"Try coming up with a good reason Dad will listen to on why I don't have my mask. That would be great."

"Blame the toddler?" Rachel asked.

"I'm not laying that on a little kid," James said as he handed Liza the remains of his cowl to play with. "Even if it's true."

"Hey, we used to do it all the time to Nate," Rachel teased as Liza tried to wear the tattered cowl.

"Because it was Nate's fault."

"At least ninety percent of the time," Rachel agreed.

James tried to readjust Liza, who let him move her a little before she latched on and snuggled in - peeking at Rachel over his shoulder. Slowly, the three of them headed to where the other mutants who had been staying at the halfway home were staying clumped up, unsure of what to do - at least until the Avengers arrived and Hank got out first, obviously concerned and headed right for Nate.

Kate was relieved to see him and waved him over with hands that were covered in red. "I think I stopped the worst bleeding," she said in a tight voice.

"You did well," Hank said as he started working - much quicker and more efficiently than they'd realized he could. "If it makes you feel any better, cuts on the head always bleed much worse than they need to."

"That… that does, actually make me feel better," Kate breathed out. "It got pretty close to his eye…"

"He'll likely end up with a scar," Hank said.

"That's okay," Kate said. "He can rock a rugged look I can tease him about."

Hank smiled, but as soon as Nate was patched up, he picked him up to get him off the scene. "Who else was injured?"

"James got busted up, but he says he's fine - if you believe that," Mia said. "We're all okay, really. They were just super unlucky."

"I think you mean super _lucky_," Hank said. "Having a building come down on you could have killed every one of you in a blink."

The kids all paused when they heard it, the weight of it hanging over their heads - and reminding them of what their parents had been saying - before Tommy spoke up. "Yeah, well, it could have killed all these people who were just trying to _live_ too. So… all's well that ends well, right?"

"Not exactly," Steve said as he joined the group, looking each one of them over carefully. "We're securing the scene. SHIELD will be investigating this, so I'm sorry, but you're going to need to stick around a little longer."

"Seriously?" Tommy asked.

"Not like James can go anywhere anyway," Mia pointed out with a giggle, gesturing to where James had both Ollie and Liza climbing on him and snuggling him hard with Billy close by - and highly entertained by the kids using his boyfriend as both teddy bear and jungle gym.

"Yes, really," Steve said. "They attacked a civilian building full of innocent people. Not all of which were mutants, either, by the way. We've been pushing. I thought that was clear. And since it was an official organization working outside of their given parameters … there are big consequences."

"Mess with the bull, get the horns, and all that," Tommy said.

"You all need to give statements," Steve said. "So keep your masks on and be patient."

"Oh yeah. We're really good at that," Mia said, smirking Tommy's way.

"You'll live," Steve said with a sigh, and not long after Hank and Nate headed off for better medical, the SHIELD agents arrived and started separating the kids to find out what happened. Just before the public and the press started to come out snapping pictures of the young heroes at work.

While some of the agents interviewed the young X-Men, others were working hard to get the kids paired back up with their guardians and others still were trying to stop bystanders from recording the young heroes. It didn't take long before the civilians were all being directed to somewhere safe to stay - though it took some serious convincing to get James' hangers-on to trust the agents enough to go with them and eventually James carried the kids rather than hand them over as he followed the agents to find their mother.

Finally, all that was left was the X-Men and Avengers, and the kids tried to look more composed than they felt as they boarded the Quinjet so they could catch up with Nate and Hank.

And somehow, the kids weren't surprised that, when they did get there, Scott was already there too - to make sure Nate wasn't too badly hurt. He looked shaken, but seeing Rachel and James seemed to bolster him, and he crossed the space in a few long strides to grab them both in a hug.

"We're fine, Dad," Rachel said, though she held on tightly. "How's Nate doing?"

"He's stable, and Hank says he'll be on his feet in no time," Scott said, sounding relieved. "It looked worse than it was." He stopped and cupped her cheek. "I saw what happened."

"We had gotten _almost _everyone out," Rachel said. "Nate went back in to help James."

Scott nodded. "Are _you _alright?" he asked. "I saw that too."

"I am now," Rachel said. "I think. I was scared for Nate."

"You kept a lid on it," Scott said. "I'm proud of you, Rachel."

"The teasing helped," Rachel admitted with a laugh.

Scott smiled and looked toward James. "That sounds right. Jean always did better with positivity."

"Wasn't teasing," James said. "I insinuated that I could go for a roasted marshmallow."

Scott chuckled. "That would be one burnt marshmallow."

"Got her to relax," James said. "Worth it."

"And what about you?" Scott asked, looking him over.

"I'm fine," James said. "Just tired. And starving. As you do."

Scott smirked. "Healing takes it out of you," he agreed. "We'll get you something high-protein. That helps."

"O-kay," James said slowly. "Are _you _alright? You seem amazingly okay right now and it's kind of freaking me out."

"You missed my entrance," Scott said dryly.

"Well yeah, I had a couple kids hanging off me."

"Yes," Hank said in a low whisper James' way, "and you missed the sedative I gave him. You must still have blood in your nose."

"Ah," James said quietly, matching Hank's tone and volume as he reached up to scrub his nose with the back of his hand. He'd thought he had done a good job of wiping off all the blood when he was holding on to the little girl. "Yeah. I do."

"It seemed necessary to prevent him having a medical episode himself," Hank said, and James reached out to rest a hand on Hank's shoulder before he stepped closer and lowered his voice.

"I think, before Dad burns that out of his system and before we go, if you could be real quiet about checking an x-ray or two for me, that might be good. To make sure everything is where it should be, especially since it doesn't feel … right."

"You were hurt more than you're admitting to. I am utterly un-shocked," Hank said as he nodded. "Scott, do you mind if I look over both of your other children?" he asked. "Just to be safe."

Scott let out a breath and nodded, sitting down by Nate. "Alright."

"Can you put that in his coffee?" James asked when they were in the lab, well away from Scott.

Hank chuckled. "It's not something I would like to do regularly, but he was in such disarray over Nate's injuries and Rachel's fire that I felt I had a duty to protect him."

"I'm glad you did," James said, then was quiet for a moment. "Does that mean I'm off the hook for losing the cowl?"

"I wouldn't bet on it," Hank said, raising an eyebrow James way. He let out a sigh. "Anyone who was on a team with Logan knew instantly why you did it, though," he admitted. "There were so many missions in which Logan or K would find the smallest people in danger. Logan rarely kept the cowl on if he thought it would scare them."

"There's good reason for that," James said.

"My advice would be not to bring it up," Hank told him frankly.

"Yeah, not gonna happen," James agreed. "But … okay. So. I had a beam fall on me and I broke a few things. They're healed … I just want to make sure it's okay. I got pretty sick when I stood up."

"Say no more," Hank said, already directing James to the X-Ray machine. "Let's take a look. Just tell me _everything _that was broken."

"Okay, but I'd rather you didn't _have _to re-break anything," James said.

"If I do," Hank said, "I will give you a collar and put you to sleep first. No reason to do that to you consciously."

"Thanks, I think," James said, relaxing a little as he leaned back and directed Hank on what he knew had broken.

Hank let out a breath when he saw the results and then gently handed James a collar. "When you wake up again, you'll be good as new," he promised.

James frowned but nodded, though considering everything he knew, he couldn't in good conscience ignore one important point. "You'll make sure Dad doesn't see in here, right? I don't want him seeing me in a collar."

Hank paused and his lips parted when he realized that James had to know the full story of his father if he was having concerns like that. "_Absolutely_," Hank promised gently. "He'll likely be asleep before we can get started anyhow."

James nodded again. "Okay. Yeah. That works." He blew out a breath and put the collar on with a click before he leaned back. A moment later, Hank took a hold of his arm gently and put in an IV and administered the proper medications.

It didn't take long once the shot kicked in for James to pass out so Hank could get to work. Which left only Rachel awake out of Scott's three kids.


	49. A Price To Heroics

_A/N - Practically An Avenger! I'm so glad you're enjoying this .. and don't worry too much about being slow to review. I'm still holding back to let the mainstream story catch up to here, and honestly, I've had a rough week - or this would have been out sooner. _

* * *

**Chapter 49 - A Price To Heroics**

* * *

Billy stayed at the tower with the rest of his team until Hank was done re-breaking and setting James' bones that had healed improperly. He waited, trying not to draw too much attention to himself - or to James as he watched an obviously high Scott get protectively affectionate with Rachel to the point that Billy was wondering if he was going to be _alright_.

But he didn't get to stick around and wait for James to wake up - not when Erik was blowing up his phone expecting a call.

Tommy and Mia had already zipped off, so instead of drawing down fire at the school, Billy cast a spell to bring himself _and _Erik to a tiny island that they'd designated as a safe place for the two of them to chat. But Erik didn't look pleased to have been zapped to this little private hideaway.

"You could have been _killed_," Erik half-shouted once he'd gotten his bearings. "Where is your brother?"

"Hold on," Billy said, holding one finger up as he waited for Tommy to reply to his text … and moments later, the wind nearly knocked Billy off his feet when Tommy skidded to a stop next to him.

"What did I miss?"

Erik looked angrier as he looked between the two boys. "You both should be coming back to Genosha with me _right now_. Do you have _any idea _what would have happened to you if those neanderthals had captured you? Do you know what they would have _done_?"

"Grandfather, they never got the ch-"

"You would have ended up _enslaved _or _dead_ just like the _fools _who wore that badge to begin with!" Erik bellowed, rising up off the ground. He hadn't _meant _to float up, but it just … happened sometimes when he was that angry.

The twins shared a look, and _calmly_ Billy put his hands to his sides and floated up so he could see eye to eye with him. "They weren't trying to take _us_. And I have absolute faith that you or Mother would undo whatever damage they might try."

Erik deflated slightly, but it only served to illustrate to him how much the boys had relied on him if they were counting on Erik coming in to help even while they were _defying him_. "True as that may be, we won't always be there for you. If something were to happen to either of us - or if Genosha was under attack while you were being treated like an animal, what then? You need to be able to see when to attack _preemptively._"

But Billy held his gaze steadily. "We were saving _innocent mutants_. I thought that was the whole point of what we're doing."

"It doesn't change the fact that both of you should be in Genosha."

"We're in _school_," Tommy said thickly. "We're getting an _ed-u-caaaaa-tion_. Mom said. So … _bye_." With that, he zipped off, spraying both Billy and Erik down with sea water as he did so.

"You must be more careful," Erik said when once again it was just the two of them - and for the first time _ever_, he knew he didn't have an upper hand or a sneaky play to pull. Yet.

"I _am_, Grandfather," Billy swore, one hand over his heart. "But I am also enjoying being at school and seeing this country. We will finish school in Westchester. And not just this year."

"Then I'll see you again when the school year is over. There is no reason for you to stay and neglect your _family _over the summer."

Billy paused, since … he honestly hadn't considered how he was going to approach summer. Originally he _was _going to come back for the summer but now … "I love you too," Billy said finally, deciding to try and end it on a high note - and it did get the relieved sort of warm smile from Erik he'd been hoping for. "But I should get back. Tommy and Mia went back to the school already - and James will be waking up soon from surgery."

"Give the Summers family my regards," Erik said, then paused himself. "You were all very lucky to walk out of that building with no fatalities. Even your James could have been crushed to death."

Which, of course, had hit a little too close to what had happened. "We know we were lucky," Billy agreed rather than fight with him on it. "Please let Mom and Dad know we're okay and that I'll call her when I get back to the school."

With a quick hug, Billy stepped back and his eyes glowed once again as he worked the spell to send them both back. When he appeared in the recovery room where Hank was waiting for James to wake up before he pulled the collar, he let out a breath of relief before he pulled up a chair to wait it out.

He knew that the mission had been dangerous - after the fact - but it was the most fun he'd had since Genosha. He didn't know what had changed after he'd brought James and his family there for break, but James had been incredibly quiet since then. He was almost back to himself when they were playing with Ollie and Liza. And he _enjoyed _watching James interact with the kids. If it wasn't for the fact that he knew James was in pain at the time, he was pretty sure that James was back to himself.

Maybe he just needed a mission to run - or kids to play with. One or the other. Either way, it was a good look on him.

Billy was lost in thought when the monitors started to change their rhythm as James began to wake up. But he didn't hit the call button to bring Hank in. Not when he had a shot to see his boyfriend doped up on painkillers. "Hey there, Sleeping Beauty," Billy teased as James turned his way.

"Little Prince Charming," James half slurred out. "Where's my kiss? Not allowed to wake up until I get a kiss."

"Not quite how it works," Billy laughed, though he did come over to steal a kiss before James lost the collar and burned out the drugs.

"Sure it is," James countered with a sloppy, crooked smile. "Worked, didn't it?"

"I'd still prefer you didn't make a habit of this. I know Dr. Beast felt awful about having to break your bones again."

"S'okay. I'll heal," James said. "That's what I do, you know. That's all I do."

"Modest when you're high, too. Interesting." Billy said just before Hank came into the room to check things over. It wasn't any time at all though before James burned out the drugs once the collar was off.

But he smiled at Billy as soon as Hank left them alone for a moment. "You were _worried_," he said.

"I wasn't," Billy said. "Not really. I know you're fine. But I didn't want you to wake up alone."

"Yeah sure, love you too," James said, still smiling.

For an instant, Billy was clearly taken off guard, but he couldn't hide the growing grin as he leaned forward and kissed the sense out of James. "And I love _you _\- but you beat me to it."

"I had to. You were taking _forever_," James said, though he didn't look like he was in a rush to move with Billy staying close.

"You _did _pick the slow twin," Billy teased, perfectly pleased when James moved over and waved Billy over to join him.

"Lucky me," James teased as the two of them got situated - even if it wasn't strictly necessary for James to _stay _in the medical wing. The rest of his family was preoccupied anyhow. They wouldn't miss him for at _least _a few hours.

He just hadn't expected it when Tony arranged for food to be brought in for _both _of them with a note that promised a long talk once Scott allowed him back to the tower.

* * *

For the weeks that followed the incident that kept the X-Men in the news for a whole _slew _of reasons, Scott became almost militant about James' schedule because he had, in fact, not been pleased about James being outed so early in the game.

And as part of that, he kept a much more watchful eye on the neighborhood, though he was surprised when the only change in patterns was the slight uptick in people walking past. All of them were neighbors, but none of them stared or stopped ... even if it was clear to Scott that they were milling around trying to catch James and likely Nate, too.

Toby had been pressing to have a chat with Scott, but he simply couldn't let his guard down enough to allow it to happen. And though he didn't know it, James had put himself in a bit of isolation as well - promising the rabbi that he'd catch up with him as soon as he was un-grounded, even using tutoring his brother as an excuse as to why he was unavailable.

But, as Hank had promised, Nate was back on his feet soon enough. He had plenty of makeup work to do at school in spite of the help James had offered. Scott had sent out an email to all of Nate's teachers explaining that he'd been in an accident with some friends, and they were all sympathetic and more than willing to give Nate time to catch up, even with as close to coming off of spring break as it was.

In fact, Scott was surprised by the personal response from Nate's history teacher in particular:

_Mr. Mueller,_

_Thank you for reaching out. I was worried when I didn't see Nate in class, and I hope you know that your family has my prayers and support. I hope he and his friends recover quickly._

_I wanted to reassure you as well that missing this time won't affect his grade too badly. He's been pulling his grades up quickly, and you'll be happy to know that if he keeps at it, he might even be able to manage a B in my class. _

_Please let me know if there is anything I can do. _

_-Annie Hale_

Scott raised his eyebrows as he read over the email. As much as he hated to admit it, he was starting to see why Nate had tried to set him up with this teacher. Aside from being _pretty _and smart, if this was the kind of attention she gave her students…

He shook his head to himself. He really wasn't ready for that - not when he was waiting for a call from Kitty concerning the latest intel on Magneto's strongholds on Genosha, and certainly not when his kids were X-Men and were growing into _risks_ that still took his breath away from the outside. He knew his team at that age had taken much bigger risks, but it was different when he felt as though his hands were tied.

He was honestly trying to come to terms with that. He knew the kids had their hearts in the right place, and there was a part of him that knew they were right. The world _did _need the X-Men.

He just hated that the world needed _his _kids.

In any case, _Scott _needed to focus. His initial plan to go to Genosha and simply _deal _with Magneto wasn't going to cut it when he had seen the look on James' face that morning in Genosha. He needed something solid, something with an exit plan.

It was still risky. It was. And he was making arrangements just in case - a pair of letters to Nate and Rachel that told them the story he'd already told James. He had instructions for who would take guardianship of the boys until they were grown with Tony Stark at the forefront of James' care so long as Natasha supervised and Warren and Betsy listed for Nate since he knew Warren would know how to deal with Nate and they wouldn't keep the kids apart anyhow. He also had written out an apology and explanation for everything he could think of - and every piece of advice he could think to write down from his days as an X-Man. Just in case.

Scott let out a sigh and sent off a quick thank you to Ms. Hale before he turned back to his plans. Alex's birthday was coming up, and that would be a good excuse to go to Genosha…..


	50. Public Opinion

_A /N - I've been giving you tiny bites ... here, have a big honkin' chapter._

* * *

**Chapter 50 - Public Opinion**

* * *

"Are you sure you're ready to head back to school already?" James asked Nate as the two of them headed down the street together to get a bagel and some coffee. Nate's healing had been moving along at a good speed, but James was pretty sure that his little brother was pushing himself a little too much, too soon.

"I'm going crazy sitting at home," Nate said. "And I really will be in big trouble if I don't get my history grade up enough for Dad to not have a stroke."

"Which is why we're taking your 'study break'," James said, complete with air quotes. "Remind me again why we couldn't get it delivered?"

"Because you need to leave the _house_ for things not related to work and missions?" Nate said slowly. "I've been hearing complaints through Kate about the lackluster effort in _your _dating life and I can't even begin to tell you how much I do not want to hear about that - at all. Especially when I'm trying to have my _own _date nights? So … if you want to drop him, just drop him."

James stopped entirely as he turned toward his brother. "Are you nuts?"

"No, but I'm not afraid of Magneto either," Nate teased. "So, that could be part of it."

James gave him a dry look, let out a rumbling sort of low growl, then started walking again. "I'm not afraid of Magneto. Thanks. In fact, I'll thank you to keep him out of the same breath when you're talking about my love life, too. Unless you want me recruiting Clint to be _worse _when it comes to _his _descriptions and 'help' that he loves to give." He gestured widely. "Maybe it's time that Uncle _Barney _was tracked down to make an appearance and play overprotective guardian of virtue."

"I'm not the one suddenly dropping the ball," Nate pointed out. "So what's the problem? _Show me_ if it's easier than talking."

"No," James said, shaking his head already and thinking of the many things he didn't want Nate to see … the thinly veiled threats in Magneto's research labs, the not at all veiled threats he'd made at Stark Tower, the challenge over dinner with Billy's family that Scott and Rachel hadn't seen … and the chess game and all that went with it … along with a dozen or more _minor _interactions over the course of the week that none of his family had been witness to. "You don't need to see any of that, really."

"How much _was _there?" Nate asked quietly as they stepped into the neighborhood cafe that the boys preferred.

"Let it go, Nate," James warned as he stepped into line and shoved his hands deeply in his pockets. He was scowling and frowning at nothing in particular, but Nate recognized the expression as one that told him he'd hit close on something - and if he was to connect the dots with his big brother, it was probably to do with Magneto more than anything.

Which would explain why James was distracted enough to miss the fact that three different tables of neighbors were smiling brightly at him. And not in the usual 'oh, look at the nice Mueller boys', but something a little … more. As James quietly waited, Nate reached out to brush the minds of those around them, and was utterly un-surprised when he found that pretty much everyone in the shop with a few minor exceptions knew _exactly _who his big brother was after he'd been busted out on camera… and they approved.

The accidental unmasking apparently wasn't _all _bad. Not if what he was hearing from their neighbors was any indicator. Nate smiled to himself as he started focusing a little more - to hear their individual impressions. From what he could sift through, it was pretty clear that his big brother had a following - not that Nate didn't know that. He and Kate had been tipped off to a X-Men _fan forum _that had been active nearly as long as they'd been on the scene … and though each and every team member had their own sections dedicated to those that were following them, James' had blown up since their last big mission … because _now _his face was publicly known. And that meant plenty of admirers in the city had been keeping their eyes open for him.

Of course, that meant speculation on Nate, too - and though so far, the speculation had been incredibly off base, people were trying to figure out who the rest of the team was underneath the masks.

It was a security issue … most of the time. And it wasn't lost on Nate that a whole internet full of people making posts on where his big brother had been seen was potentially _a very bad thing_. Right now, though? It was _entertainment._ Especially knowing that James _hated _being the center of attention. Which was _so _unfortunate for him when so many teenage and college age girls in the shop were admiring from afar and _intimidated _to approach the young Wolverine.

"_Nate_," James said, frowning at him, which made it clear to Nate that he'd missed the first two times James had said his name. "I know you're lost in your head, but come on. Do you want your usual?"

"Yes. Please. I'll find a table," Nate said, grinning wider at him for just long enough to James to really become convinced that Nate had lost it. A moment later, Nate turned away from his brother and looked around the cafe until he found a spot with a few hopeful looking young ladies who were projecting out how much they wanted the two of them to sit near them.

And who was he to argue with the masses of admirers? He took his phone out as he made his way over to the table nearest the two young women, though he had a hard time deciding which seat to take, ultimately opting to _let _his clueless brother sit nearest the girls. He was chuckling to himself as he texted Kate to let her know where they were - _if _she wanted to join them. But the show had already started.

James had made their order like he always did and pulled his wallet out to pay when the guy behind the counter grinned widely at him and told him it was covered. James paused, frowning before he slowly took a fifty out and put it in the tip jar then turned toward Nate, telegraphing clearly 'what is even happening?'

Which was about the very funniest expression he could have been wearing. So Nate was understandably entertained. "What's wrong?" Nate asked, grinning because he couldn't hide his amusement; this reaction was _so _different from what he was used to seeing from James when someone would flirt with him. Clearly, his brother had a lot on his mind.

"Nothing, I guess," James replied as he took a seat and the two of them waited for their order to come to the table. He settled in, more or less clueless at the broad grins the young ladies behind him were wearing. Grins that only got wider when he took his jacket off and set it on the chair next to him. Nate covered his _glee _by subtly snapping a few pictures of James minding his own business while the girls carried on. "What is _wrong _with you?" James asked - his tone and expression perfectly flat.

"Nothing. It's just a _beautiful _morning."

James frowned and narrowed his eyes at Nate's phone. "How long before Kate gets here?"

"Any time, I'm sure," Nate said, still smiling as the barista came over with their order, though at least he was more interesting than the girls at the table next to him. Nate smiled at the guy and thanked him, but he barely looked Nate's way. And still, James seemed to be willfully ignoring the people around him … at least until he saw the phone number and the note under the sleeve of his latte.

He took the note out from under the sleeve and frowned as he opened it. "What …"

Nate grinned wider. "If you were more _open_…"

James glanced up at him, considered letting his brother in, then quickly shook his head. "Just tell me."

"You were on live TV, oh, brother mine," Nate said quietly as the girls giggled behind James. "They _like _you. And the ones behind you want to see you in the stripes."

James straightened up slightly as he gave his brother a look of pure disbelief. "We should go," James said.

"Don't think it would help much," Nate replied, still smiling. "Kinda the same gist of what I was hearing on the street too. Just wait until the pictures start showing up on social media."

"I'm gonna need an inducer."

"Oh, come on," Nate said, laughing to himself. "I'm teasing." He raised his voice. "I'm sure most people know not to say _where _you are, or when."

As James gave him a dry look, the girls behind him caught Nate's attention with a double thumbs up and wide grins.

And then Kate caught up to them. She was quick to make her order at the counter and slid into the seat nearest Nate - pointedly shifting her seat _even closer _to Nate to make it clear who she was with so as not to disturb their fellow cafe patrons.

"Hi, Katie," James said, smiling tightly. "What are you doing now?"

"Just had to see my favorite guy," Kate said with a grin as she snuggled up with Nate. "And wanted to _bask _in how much you're appreciating the _fan club_."

"The barista gave him a phone number," Nate whispered into her hair before he kissed the side of her head.

"The cute redhead?"

"No," Nate said, smiling wider. "The blond."

Kate whipped around then grinned wider when she saw the cute boy behind the counter that was trying not to watch them outright. "Oh. Billy won't like that _at all_."

"I didn't do anything," James defended lightly. "All _I _did was order coffee."

"Yep, and then the guy refused to take his money," Nate said, smiling obnoxiously.

"You make it sound way worse than it was," James said, staring at his brother with an unspeakably dry expression on his features.

"Are you trying to say that he didn't totally want to shove his tongue down your throat?" Nate challenged - and it was shocking enough for Nate to approach the subject _like that _that James found himself staring at his little brother for a full beat. "I'll bet Billy would want to know about _him_."

"And I'm very sure it won't make a bit of difference," James said. "Because for it to make _any difference,_ I'd have to be flirting with him, too. And I'm not. So stop trying to cause trouble."

"Is he the jealous type?" Nate asked with a broad grin, though James rolled his eyes.

"It's a non-issue, you moron," James said, then reached under the table to kick the leg of Nate's chair enough to jostle him.

"I know, I know," Nate laughed. "You two are usually so _sickeningly sweet _together. I was just trying to find out what changed."

"Nothing," James answered, frowning deeper at Nate as if he'd lost his mind.

"Okay but … that's not really the way it sounds when Billy's _projecting _how concerned he is about how quiet you are," Nate said.

James let out a long, weary kind of sigh as he rubbed his hands over his face, only to stop with one hand covering his eyes. "You're giving me a headache," he said finally. "Either you're amused with people ogling me or you're worried about how things are between me and my boyfriend. Pick. One." When he moved his hand from his eyes, he fixed Nate with a look and picked up his jacket, then took his coffee in one hand and the note in the other. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to let this guy down easy."

"Oh, come on," Nate said with a smile, though his tone was down as James stood up and headed toward the now-empty counter, where the blond was smiling wider as James came up to talk to him.

Kate smiled as she leaned into Nate; he really was more fun to be around in a mood like this. But still, she couldn't help but try to ease his mind. She kept their conversation in whispers so they wouldn't be overheard as she said, "The Billy thing is a non-issue, by the way."

Nate was still too entertained to realize she was talking to him for a few seconds before he turned her way and kissed her forehead. "What, the jealousy or the everything else?"

"It's just not even a _thing _for drama, unless you count the fact that they're probably gonna end up getting married as drama."

Nate's expression shifted entirely, and he couldn't help but peek into Kate's mind, surprised to find that she was _serious_. "Wait, what?"

Kate smiled crookedly. "I know you can't peek in on him like you can with me unless he lets you, but can you really not see it?" she asked. "I've double dated with James or been at the tower for almost all of the girls he _ever_ dated, and I've _never _seen him like this. He's _smiling _more when Billy's around, and it's like he forgets to have the world on his shoulders after five minutes with him."

Nate had his full attention on Kate by that point. "Kate, he was happy with the others, too. Especially May. Come on. _Mayday?_"

"Not like this." When Nate still looked like he didn't quite get it, she sighed. "Okay, fine. _Don't _believe the Hawkeye who has been trained by her mom since she was _little _how to read body language and pick out intentions from them."

"Kate…"

"I'm just saying: telepaths should be forced to take body language classes or something. You're _terrible _at this."

Nate shook his head and then kissed her, mostly because she looked so pleased with herself and he couldn't stand the idea of letting her think she was ahead of him. At anything. _I still think you're exaggerating._

_I could project to you the total melt that Billy did when he saw James with those kids. That boy saw James with a couple of kids and you could actually see the moment he decided he wanted that future._

_That's Billy, though._

_James looks at Billy like he can't believe he's lucky enough to have him._

_Doesn't count. James has low self-esteem._

Kate rolled her eyes and hit Nate with the back of her hand. "Okay, fine. _Look _if you need to see what I've seen. But I'm telling you: your brother has it _bad_."

And just because Nate honestly thought Kate was seeing things that weren't there, he _did_, in fact, peek into her mind - and was taken aback by all the _little _things she'd seen. The subtle smiles, the quiet flirting, the way James always seemed that little bit more relaxed when Billy came to visit.

_Well? _Kate said when she knew Nate was done.

_Okay, so you've seen a couple things I might have overlooked. _

_Is that your way of admitting I'm right without admitting you didn't see it?_

_Always gotta be right, huh?_

_Um. Yes. Have you met me?_

_If I say no, will we have to get reacquainted? _Nate asked, grinning crookedly.

Kate rolled her eyes at him but kissed him anyway. _One-track mind, Summers._

_Like you aren't right there with me._

_Your brother is coming back from talking to the barista._

_He knows we're in each other's heads all the time, _Nate pointed out, already moving into a psychic makeout session with her. James was uncomfortable enough that they were going to be headed home soon anyway, and he wanted to move on to better things than having to leave the fan club-filled cafe.

"That didn't take long," James said, shaking his head at how quickly Nate had gone from teasing him to getting lost in Kate.

"Nope," Kate said happily, giggling as Nate slid his arms tighter around her.

"You should find yours and do the same," Nate said, resting his chin on Kate's shoulder.

"In person," Kate teased, though James shook his head at her.

And that had Nate pinching her and projecting, _You're getting dangerously close to revealing my powers._

_Does that mean I'd have to pretend to be jealous of the groupies you'd immediately get? You already have some from sheer proximity to your brother._

_Maybe you _should _be jealous. _

_Puh-lease. I'm a million times sexier._

_A million?_

_Doubt me again and there will be no sex of any kind for you. Including telepathic. _

_Now there's a threat._

_And not an empty one, either, _Kate promised and then smiled at James. "Don't worry. He's been informed that he's getting _nowhere _if he doesn't stop being _weird_."

"I couldn't care less about where he's getting or not getting," James replied. "And if you wait for him to stop being weird, you'd be better off just moving on right now."

"Hurtful," Nate breathed out dramatically, one hand over his heart.

"Just can't take the truth," James said, then blew out a breath. "I'm headed back. You two … enjoy your date."

"What? You're _not _going to go meet up with Billy?" Kate asked, scrunching up her nose. "Because you should. He could use the pick me up."

"He's studying for three big tests," James said. "And he already said he doesn't want my help - which I think means he actually _wants _to study."

"So, what? You can't keep on track?" Kate teased.

"No, I can keep on task fine," James said. "He gets bored of the subject too fast when I help."

"Which classes?" Nate asked.

"Blue's Physics, Angel's Human Relations, and Jono's Calculus class." James shrugged one shoulder up. "He's probably with his dad, to be honest, so I'm not going to bother him."

_See? _Nate projected to Kate. _Low self esteem. _"Pretty sure he wouldn't think you were bothering him."

James tipped his chin up and turned to leave the two of them alone. "I was checking up on _you_ to make sure you were alright. But now that I see you're in semi-responsible hands, I'm gonna go. Try not to get in the kind of trouble that needs a shotgun wedding solution." He winked at Kate, then left the two of them behind. Especially since Kate would be the one watching over Nate at school anyhow.

And besides, it was almost time for him to go talk to Toby. He'd skipped the last few weeks solely because he'd been paranoid and worried about Nate's health. Nate had gotten a small concussion when he'd gotten hit by a falling _wall_ \- a point that still had James shaking his head. His brother shouldn't _ever _get hurt. Especially not head wounds. They'd heard the trouble their dad had when it came to head wounds when he was a kid - there was no telling what could happen if a telepath suddenly lost the ability to control their powers. Not to mention that had been too close to Nate being severely injured or killed for James to _not _stress over.

When he got to the rabbi's office, he knocked on the door and quietly took a seat after talking to the rabbi's wife for a moment. She was smiling warmly at him the whole time, and James found himself staring at his hands.

"Ah, there you are," Rabbi Cohen said when he opened the door to his office, already waving him forward. "I was starting to wonder if you were too _famous _to continue our chats."

James let out a nervous breath of a laugh. "Yeah, that's what it is, alright." But that only had Toby chuckling to himself as James stepped into his office.

"I really am glad you came to see me," Toby said. "I've been a little worried about you and your siblings since the unmasking."

James sighed heavily as he sat down. "Yeah …"

"Do you want to tell my why, after everything your father did to keep you safe all these years, you took that mask off?" Toby held up both hands. "I'm not criticizing. I'm just asking why."

"That little boy was terrified of us," James said. "I couldn't get him to safety without getting him to trust me, and that wasn't going to happen with the mask on."

"Okay, that works to get him to go to you, but once he knew you weren't someone scary, why didn't you put it back on?" Toby was watching him with an open expression. "Once he saw your face, he knew you were a person. You could have put the mask back on."

For a long moment, James simply blinked back at Toby, at a total loss - and openly so. He could be glib about it and point out that there was another little kid, but the question was still pertinent. If Oliver could have coped, there was no reason his little sister couldn't have too. "It … never occured to me. I was focused on the kids, not hiding who I was, I guess."

"I'd say that's a good guess," Toby agreed. "But why is it, that after being raised with a deep sense of caution you did what you did for those kids?"

"Terminal genetic defect?" James joked dryly. "That's what it sounds like if I go by what everyone has said after the fact."

Toby smiled, but didn't laugh. "I would like to think that you didn't _slip _because of a self destructive impulse."

James quickly shook his head. "No, that's not what happened at all." Toby raised his eyebrows, waiting for James to defend his position. "I was trying to help. And I couldn't do that with a mask. I shouldn't _have _to hide when I'm helping. Not from kids." He opened his mouth, his lip curled almost into a snarl, but then he stopped himself from continuing. "Dad wasn't even that mad. Sure, he was mad, but he understood. It's fine."

"So this lockdown you've been under is self imposed?"

"Some of it," James said.

"How are you handling the extra attention?"

James nearly did a double take. "... what?"

"You can't tell me you haven't noticed that there have been more people being friendly around the neighborhood," Toby said. "I know you're more observant than that."

James smiled wryly. "I was taught that any attention is a problem." He held up his hands. "Not Dad's fault. A lot of that was Aunt Tasha, Tony, Steve …"

"Before you go too far listing off Avengers, just tell me you can _see _how many people there are that care about you," Toby said, smiling more warmly than before.

"I am trying to keep that in mind, yes," James agreed, though he stopped short of totally agreeing with him.

"I know you can't read minds like your siblings, and that you can't tell someone's intentions with your abilities-"

"You'd be surprised," James said, cutting him off, though that had Toby smiling to himself.

"Then I invite you to do a mental count of those intentions the next time you're in a crowd in our neighborhood." James considered him and then gently nodded in agreement. "So, knowing you don't talk about yourself too well - how did things go for your _teammates_, without naming any names?"

"Who do you want to know about?"

"Why don't you start with Cable and Prestige?"

James' shoulders dropped. "I talked her down, she was okay. But _he _never should have been … that was too close."

"Remind me again of who was injured and how badly."

"Just about everyone got a few bumps and bruises, that's par for the course. But he took part of a wall to his head," James said flatly. He ran his hand through his hair with a frown. "I've been working on something for Tony for so long, I didn't even _think _to worry about my team …"

"Were you hurt?" Toby asked. "Because it looked pretty bad. You had some suspicious missing pieces to your uniform, and there looked to be a lot of blood as well."

James blinked at him, then closed his eyes as he shook his head. "That doesn't really matter. I'm fine. I walked out with no trouble. Doesn't matter."

"You're wrong," Toby said. "How would you have felt if _Cable_ had been in your shoes?" James paled and blew out a breath as Toby watched him. "That doesn't look like nothing."

"It's a sliding scale."

"Would he be here today if he'd been in your place?"

"Probably," James said. "Wouldn't do his football career any good though."

"James."

"I didn't get hurt trying to save _him_," James said. "I was caught up in the building when it came down with a little kid. It doesn't matter how I got hurt anyhow when I healed before someone could point it out."

"At the risk of opening a sore spot, I can't help but wonder if your parents would have done the same."

"If I go by what the Avengers, X-Men, and my Dad have to say - they absolutely would have." James held his gaze steadily. "So by that right, I'm keeping with the family tradition."

"And that's okay now?"

James considered it for a long moment, careful as always with his words when it mattered. "Yes. I think I'd be doing my parents and my dad a disservice if I didn't."

"And how is your dad handling this new outlook?"

"It changes from day to day," James said. "Today he was alright. He didn't mind when I took Nate to the cafe for a break."

"How much longer is he going to be out?" Toby asked, trying to figure out how badly Nate had been hurt.

"He's going back to school tomorrow," James admitted. "I wanted to see how he was, my mistake. He's _fine_."

Toby chuckled to himself. "Any reason you feel that way?"

'Before he had Kate crash the coffee shop for him, he was apparently amusing himself with people who recognized me," James admitted, though he didn't look amused in the least.

"So going back to the beginning of our session - you're _not _handling the extra attention well."

"I really hate when you do that," James said, then sighed heavily. "If I'm being honest, I think I'm suspicious of any of the extra attention because of what I was taught growing up. Okay, I'm anxious more often than not."

"Then we should discuss what you need to do to cope with that. How's Billy doing?"

"This weekend? Trying to study, mostly. But he's fine."

"The two of you aren't … there's no trouble there, is there? Because I can think of a dozen young people that would step in if you two weren't-"

"There's nothing wrong with Billy and I," James said, cutting across him just because it irritated him to hear it - especially twice in one morning. "But we're still teenagers. And he has school that he needs to do well in - and I have _work_ to get done."

"Was any of that an obstacle before?"

"No, but neither was the fact that people recognized me," James pointed out. "And yes, okay? I'm being a little careful to make sure I don't draw down any more trouble for one of Genosha's princes."

"Ah. So this isn't wariness, it's more protectiveness. I really do think you're not going to have half the trouble you think is waiting for you."

"Alright. You think that and you can just be wrong. It's fine. I'm used to watching people be wrong all the time."

Toby couldn't help but shake his head at that. "Your dad's been very busy lately. Do you think you can tell him I'm still waiting to see him?"

"I can, and like I said before, if he wants to talk, he will. I can't _make him _do anything. That's like trying to stop the tides."

"And that's not in your powerset."

"If it was, I still wouldn't."

"Because you're a good kid," Toby said, smiling once again. "We have more to talk about, but I don't want to push today. It really was nice to see you for a moment, James. Please, don't be a stranger."

"I won't," James agreed, then got to his feet to head back to the house, sure that by _now_ if Nate and Kate hadn't found a place to curl up together, they'd be back home. If they were _smart_, that's where they'd be, anyhow. He made his way to the crosswalk, and waited with the handful of people there, debating on if he should pick something up for Scott on the way back or not when he saw a young lady smiling broadly at him. He tried to ignore her for a moment, but when she took half a step closer, he turned her way to give her a curt nod. The decision was made for him. He was headed home - but not directly there. He'd go around the block and slip in through the alley instead of head-on. Maybe that would ease things a little bit for a little while longer.


	51. Meanwhile, Back On The Island

_A/N - Practically An Avenger ! We LOVE your shouty all caps reviews - please don't ever stop. I don't believe Billy has crossed paths with the Frost girl - and if he has, it was probably subtle. (riiiiiiight) Please - shout away! _

**Chapter 51 - Meanwhile, Back At The Island ...**

* * *

Alex had always had an uneasy truce with his father-in-law, and he knew it. The fact that Lorna was his favorite seemed to outdo the lingering hard feelings that might have made things harder because of his past on the X-Men and his family ties, but lately, Alex wasn't sure even Lorna was enough to shield him from Erik's wrath, considering the glare Erik had on lately.

But a temperamental father-in-law would have been easy enough to deal with. The _real _worry was the way Erik was starting to get paranoid about the family he had remaining on the island. The _real _worry was the fact that Alex had caught Erik sending his minions to follow his and Lorna's kids even in the palace. The _real _worry was the fact that Chris had come home one night and asked why his grandfather had warned him against taking after his uncle.

Erik had always been controlling. But this? This was getting out of hand. The only problem, of course was that Alex didn't want to call in the cavalry if it wasn't _necessary_. And putting his human father in the line of fire where _Magneto _was concerned had to be a pressing affair.

Alex turned the small device over in his hands a few times before he decided he'd use the non-emergency setting _first_. That way, if Erik's tech picked up that he was reaching out, it would look like it was simply a social call … and since his birthday was coming up, it could certainly pass for that.

He couldn't help but smile though when it took a moment for Corsair to pick up - and he was even more amused to find that his now silver-haired father was still snickering and entirely too-wrapped up in his skunk-cat alien girlfriend. "Alex, my boy!" Corsair said, once he focused enough to see who it was that had come up. "What's on your mind, son?"

Alex's smile retreated just to the more polite setting that he found himself using with Corsair more and more as the years went on. "Just checking in, really," Alex said. "Lorna and I were talking about making my birthday into a family affair this year, so naturally, I had to see if you were anywhere near our sector."

"Well I'm not, but I could be," Corsair said, looking more serious as he looked off screen where Alex knew he was searching for whatever device Corsair kept in his cockpit that kept him up to date on the Earth calendar. "Yeah, I can be there on time. Where am I going?"

Here, Alex held his breath for an instant. He'd always done his best to keep Corsair _away _from Magneto, but in this instance, he also knew Scott was leaning toward returning to the island for _other _concerns, so for the second time in the whole time that Alex had been living on Genosha, he invited his father to visit _there_. "Genosha," he said finally. "Scott finally broke down and brought the kids over spring break and they seemed to enjoy themselves. So, we were talking about trying it with _everyone _that we have left, you know? Me, you, Scott … our kids …"

The years showed clearly around Corsair's eyes as he nodded and even Alex could see that he was sorry to have missed so much of his sons' lives. "Will there be a place for my crew?"

"We'll work something out," Alex said. "I didn't want to bring that part up unless I knew you'd be able to come."

"Of course, I'll be there," Corsair promised, though it was pretty clear that he'd caught something else by watching the anxiety on Alex's face. "Is your brother alright?"

"I mean … it's _Scott_. There's a certain level of what's to be expected with him."

"Yeah, he seemed on edge the last time I saw him," Corsair agreed.

"That was before the kids restarted the X-Men," Alex said dryly.

"They _what_?" Corsair said, straightening up with a thunderous look that Alex recognized from when he was _very _small.

"Talk to Scott," Alex advised. "He can fill you in on everything."

"I think I will," Corsair said.

"And I'll get in touch with the details for the birthday, alright?" Alex smiled to himself. "Chris and Suzie will love seeing everyone."

"It'll be nice to have the whole family in once place for a little bit," Corsair agreed with a sad smile. "Alright. I'll talk to Scott. Check in soon, huh?" The request was a quiet one, and Corsair was watching Alex closely with a look of concern that Alex understood immediately.

"I will. In the next couple of days."

Corsair's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and with a silent nod, it was clear he got the message: something was up and he needed more clarification. "I'll be waiting."

* * *

"Mister Mueller!" Toby called out, putting strong emphasis on the last name to be sure to catch Scott's attention. "You have been avoiding me for _weeks_."

"I haven't meant to," Scott said, gesturing openly as he glanced both ways up and down the street. He was only a few blocks from the house. Of course Toby would catch him in public. "It's been … complicated lately."

"Yes, we should talk about that, too," Toby said as he fell into step with Scott.

Scott frowned, noticing quickly that a few of the neighbors seemed suddenly interested in the conversation, and then waved for Toby to join him. "You're right. It's been too long. Have coffee with me, rabbi," he said — not because he wanted to talk but because he didn't like the exposure of attention.

"Yes, I'd love to," Toby said, as if this was perfectly normal and Scott hadn't been avoiding exactly this for so long now.

Scott sighed but led the way until they were back to his house. The walk for those last few blocks had been filled with small talk, so it was clear that whatever the Rabbi had on his mind - he was being smart enough to get hat out of the way before they made it to the house. Once they were through the front door and in his kitchen with coffee in front of them, an expectant silence hung over them until Scott set down the mugs. He'd expected Toby to blurt it out once they were in a safe place, but now? He could see that he was _holding back. _

"How bad is it, Toby?" Scott asked at last. "I know everyone saw James without his mask on. And I'd like to thank you for whatever you've been doing to keep us from being mobbed while the anchors are speculating almost every day."

"Would you believe it if I told you that our neighborhood can understand the value of giving someone their privacy when it matters?" Toby said with a smile.

Scott sighed. "Fair enough," he conceded.

"Besides, it's not bad at all, from what I've heard around the neighborhood."

"Yeah, I've been scanning for trouble," Scott said, tapping his temple near his eyes. "Had a few come from outside the neighborhood trying to get close to James, but they didn't make it to our block. Got too many people looking out for that kid." He leaned back slightly. "Which is good."

"I've actually had a little uptick in families looking for a _meeting_," Toby said with a little laugh. "For James, of course, but really - for all three of them again. But I'm not here for matchmaking, believe it or not."

"Good, because I don't know if you've noticed, but two out of three of my kids are starting to get serious." He paused. "As serious as Nate is capable of being, mind you."

"I think he's more serious than you realize," Toby said. "I've _heard _things, you know. And that kid hasn't picked up on the girls trying to get his attention at _all_. That has always been an indicator in my line of work — when they can't even see the other options." He gestured toward the living room. "The other one sees it but doesn't acknowledge it. I've _seen _that happen myself. But again … I'm here to talk to _you._"

Scott spread his hands wide and shrugged. "You know me, Toby. I can't help but talk about my kids."

"Deflect, deflect, deflect," Toby said. "We all do that sooner or later. But you, my friend, have been avoiding talking to me since you got back from Genosha."

"Toby, I've just been busy. I haven't been avoiding anyone. Or I've been avoiding _everyone_, I guess. It wasn't personal."

"If I hadn't called you out on the street, you would have dodged me." Toby smiled softly. "But I don't think it's personal. Not exactly. I think you just don't want to tell me why your _famous_ son is so concerned about the state of things that he's been _allowing me _to counsel him. Don't worry, he agreed to letting me tell you as much. He even wished me luck at pinning you down to talk."

Scott's frown deepened, and he was quiet for a long time as he watched the steam from his mug. "Did he tell you what I told him on Genosha?" he asked at last.

"He did," Toby said. "And it opened a whole can of worms that he came to me to help sort out. Because he recognized that he couldn't do it for himself, and he couldn't put it on you knowing what you'd gone through."

"Because I'm too close to it," Scott said in a sigh.

"I don't think it was that. If it makes you feel any better, he didn't want to talk to anyone at _work _about it either. But I don't think it was for how close you are. He hasn't told his siblings or Billy either. In fact, I believe it has more to do with not wanting to worry you when you clearly have so much on your mind already."

Scott shook his head. "No, he knows I can't help him sort it out because I still haven't sorted it out for myself," he said. "And I appreciate you being the outside counsel for him when I can't."

"He's convinced that if something happens to you, it would be because of _them_," Toby said frankly.

A lot of the color left Scott's face. "No," he said at last, softly. "I don't… no, that's not —" He cut himself off as he tried to put his words together. "I don't know how to explain to him that he can't carry my mental health on his shoulders. I've tried." He glanced over at Toby. "Maybe you can."

"I'll be honest, Scott, it's incredibly hard to ignore his logic when he decides that's how it works out. It makes sense in a very simple cause and effect manner, but it ignores too many details for me. As in .. whatever it is you're planning or not planning, would you be doing it at all if it wasn't for the kid doing what he is — mostly behind a mask?" Toby tipped his head. "Or would you still be trying to live your quiet, hidden away life protecting them for everything you could?" He smiled sadly. "That's the kind of logic I need to work around … and from that angle ... "

Scott sighed again, his coffee untouched. "It's complicated," he said at last. "I can't answer for sure, but I do know Kitty would have reached out for help eventually. You've seen Magneto on the news lately. You know that's part of why I went to Genosha. And seeing him try to _rule _his family, I don't doubt he would have left that island to cause problems anyway — as soon as his grandsons left to go to school where they could be 'influenced' by Ororo and the others."

Toby nodded slowly as Scott spoke, and for a short while after. "That's a very good point," he agreed. "But I don't know how that could have worked out for everyone if you hadn't gotten the easy route in. What concerns me — and I'll save you the psycho babble and the long, winding route — because I don't think you have the patience for it. What concerns me, is that your boy has thought that story over. The story about his parents and how they died. About your wife, and so many of those you lost. It had to have been horrific. But … he's been thinking about his father's viewpoint in that, and he told me that he understood it. That boy is amazingly good at having empathy for others. He _easily _puts himself in their shoes and feels it profoundly. It's because of that … he's concerned for you because he recognizes the expression _you're wearing _because he's seen it in himself. He told me that before he heard that story, he _had_ considered taking his own life. He promised that's not the case now, but he holds himself responsible for a lot of things he couldn't have had any real impact on. Now, where that kid got such an Atlas complex, I can't begin to understand, but he seems prepared to take the blame for every terrible thing around him."

Scott had by that time abandoned the idea of coffee for leaning on his hands, his expression nearly pained. "His parents were the same way," he said quietly. "I never could get them to see their worth and they always found ways to twist the reality of any situation to be their burden."

"Just his parents, hmm?" Toby challenged, and when Scott glanced up at him, he decided not to lob the ball quite so hard at this first meeting. "He's also convinced that it's just a matter of time before he gets picked up."

"Okay, that he got from me," Scott admitted. "I've been convinced of that since he was three. And we've come close enough times that he's got good reason to be paranoid."

"I sincerely hope you're both way off base there. Especially since he seems to have accepted it."

"You know that's the only reason I'm coming out of retirement. Trying to ease things for them," Scott said tiredly.

"That won't help them if you don't take care of yourself, too. I know that boy would give himself up if it was to help _you_. Or the others, for that matter."

"Don't say that," Scott said, slightly more sharply than he meant to - because it was a little too close to home.

"I'll take that as I'm right then," Toby said, sitting back in his seat. "I can tell you when he was on screen in that uniform, letting that little girl play with the mask, while most of our community took it as a celebration of how things _should be_, I was concerned that it was a self destructive move on his part. Like he's pushing to see if there would be a response. He denied it, of course."

"He wouldn't do that," Scott said. "If he was alone, I'd be worried about that, but he wouldn't do that with Rachel and Nate in consideration. He's too much like Logan to put them at risk _with _him."

"Then explain it to me," Toby said. "Because as his therapist, I'm having trouble believing it was _just _for the kids."

Scott sighed. "It _was _— at first," he clarified. "I know it was. Nothing else mattered to him but saving those kids. After that, I can only guess that he didn't _think _to put the mask back on. Not just because he was distracted but because he doesn't want it in the first place." He shrugged, his body language relaxed with the motion but his expression pinched. "I've heard the three of them talking about it, about how much they hate hiding. James … can be so much like his father sometimes. Especially when it comes to feeling like he shouldn't have to hide."

"I can tell you, the neighborhood was pleased with the team to begin with, but most of them took those kids as imitators — until they saw the clear resemblance that James has to his father. Especially with the uniform _and _with the mask off. I can't believe how many of them didn't see it before then."

"It's the height," Scott said, his smile returning.

"That's _all_? I didn't realize his father was short. He always seemed larger than life."

"Well, he also picked up some of my mannerisms," Scott admitted. "And to be honest, by the time he was _old _enough to match his father, it had been long enough that the only people who would have seen the connection were the ones that knew Logan, or people looking for us anyway because of _me_."

"That's a lot for those kids to carry," Toby said, then leaned toward him. "And yes, I can see who is who. I'm not discussing it with anyone, and believe it or not, your son has been consistent in refusing to acknowledge who is on the team. I'm waiting for people to realize he and _Wiccan _are an item. I know they've been careful in uniform."

"James is a good kid," Scott said, almost automatically, though he sounded both relieved and tired when he heard what Toby had to say.

"They all are," Toby agreed. "But at the risk of drawing down your _wrath_, those kids _need you_. For a lot more than you give them credit for, too."

"Toby, I already promised James while we were in Genosha that I wasn't going to follow Logan's path," Scott said, somehow sounding more tired at the admission than at any other time during their discussion.

"Good, good," Toby said in an encouraging tone. "I'm relieved to hear it. But you're less 'fine' than I've ever seen you. I can understand why the boy is concerned."

"It's been a long time since I was Cyclops," Scott said. "Even if I don't have my powers anymore, that's what I'm doing right now - working with my old teammates to stop Magneto."

"I have a feeling it was never just about your powers, Scott," Toby said.

"It wasn't." Scott got to his feet. "Well, rabbi, you can tell the suitors as gently as you can that the boys are taken, but I do actually need to get some work done. I'm expecting some intel from Kitty soon."

Toby nodded and got to his feet. "Before I go, I need to tell you one more thing — James said he's never made a plan to _act _on. You should know that. He doesn't want to make anything worse."

Scott let his shoulders drop. "Thank you."

* * *

"Why don't we do this more often?" Billy asked as he dropped onto the couch in America's rarely used apartment. "It's been forever since we got to hang out and _relax_."

"That's on you, _chico_," America replied, then took a seat on the back of the couch, looking down at him. "You've been _busy _with training and sucking face with that boy…"

"Not so much lately," he said. "His dad has him locked down pretty tight. All three of them, really."

"So magic him out - or magic yourself in," America answered with a wave. "Go get the princess out of the tower."

"It's not that simple," Billy argued as Kate took the seat on the other end of the couch with a bowl of ice cream and then put her feet up on his lap. "He's been pretty specific not to screw around with zapping into his room to keep things on level ground with his dad. It's been his _one _request, so … I'm not going to cross that line. Unless it's like … an emergency."

America raised an eyebrow and blinked once. "It's an emergency," she said in a flat, even tone. "How is he such a _goodie two shoes?_ I saw him pulling all kinds of crap when we _met_. This is dumb."

"As tempting as it is to just zap him here, I really _would _like to spend some time with _you two_," Billy said.

"What's the problem?" America asked, frowning already. "He catch the same stupid his brother got?"

"No?" Billy said slowly. "I don't _think _so?"

"I can hit him for you," America offered, lightly knocking her fist into the palm of her hand. "Maybe it'll knock some sense into him."

"I don't think that's a good solution," Billy said.

"He can take it," America shot back. "I can be there and back and bring pizza on my way."

"Again, no," Billy told her. "We've just got our wires crossed. When he's free, I've been with my dad, and when I'm free, he's either on house arrest or somewhere with Iron Man. He still hasn't taken the time to explain why he's the _favorite_ intern there."

"I mean, to be fair, he did grow up running away from people trying to use him for his genes and then took his mask off with live television reporting at the time, so, like, the house arrest is a real thing," Kate pointed out, because it was clear to her that Billy and James weren't really _communicating _as well as she'd like, and clearly, it was time for explanation.

"Yeah, I know," Billy said. "But I'm not crazy about keeping to that rule all the time. Kind of kills spontaneity when it has to be _preapproved_."

America nodded to herself. "Same family different stupid."

Kate shrugged easily. "Like I can talk. My mom's just about as paranoid as their dad."

"Ran a background check on me before we dated," America stage-whispered to Billy.

"Yeah, Kate's dad mentioned how irritated she was that she couldn't run a decent background check on me, too." Billy shook his head then turned to Kate with a crooked smile. "Your parents are _so _overprotective."

"I know," Kate said primly.

"I could probably make a joke about how _Magneto _is more trusting …"

"Yeah, um, excuse you, no, I was there for the magnetic burrito he pulled on James," Kate said, making a face.

"I almost forgot about that," he said, frowning to himself. "But I think Grandfather's over it, for the most part. Misunderstanding. They were pretty much getting along on Genosha. At least … as much as possible."

Kate gave Billy the driest look she could manage. "Uh-huh." When Billy blinked at her, she took it one step further, "So I guess he's okay with me now, huh?"

"Working on it," Billy said. "But … no. Not yet."

"Uh-huh."

"You should have heard the 'discussion' he had with James' dad after we were all kicked out."

"Did it involve your grandfather _not _trying to make everyone bow to his will? Or admitting he's racist? Or backing off of James?"

"Well … no. It was more about Cyclops laying down how it was."

"Yeah, Scott gets protective," Kate said, not at all surprised to hear it. "And I'd have paid to see his brand of protective hit your grandfather's brand."

"It was more entertaining to watch the chess games," Billy admitted as he got up to grab a soda - and America slipped into his spot.

Kate sighed and kicked her feet up so that her legs were draped over America's lap where they lounged on the couch. "I'm still not buying it, Billy."

"No, really. Scott played him to a draw, then James beat him with pawns. It was entertaining."

"And that cured the racism."

"It got him to back off of _James_," Billy said.

"Then set me up with a chess board and your grandpa, I guess," Kate drawled out, which got a snerk out of America.

"That'd be fun," Billy said. "Right up until you rebounded a Bishop off his forehead."

"Hey, the Black Widow taught me chess. I'd wait until I won before I played darts with chess pieces like my dad taught me."

Billy was grinning at her by that time. "Okay."

"Well, if you two are done setting up Katie's playdate with Magneto," America said, smirking when Kate hit her with a pillow, "I'm ordering takeout."

"She's only saying that because she isn't getting a playdate," Billy said in a stage whisper.

Kate grinned back at him. "That's because she has high standards and I'm a tough act to follow."

"Which reminds me," Billy said as he turned his whole body toward America. "_Who_ _have you been seeing_?"

America shrugged easily. "Flirted with Eleanor, but would you believe _Agent Coulson _stepped in and got protective of Deadpool's kid? Because that's a thing."

"You let a SHIELD agent slow you down?" Billy laughed. "Why?"

"Because he dressed like an uncle and said 'please' while looking like he was going to murder me. It was amazingly hilarious."

"But now I want to see that. _Before _Kate starts marathon texting her beloved. They're working toward a shotgun wedding, you know."

"He damn well better not require a shotgun to get in gear if it gets to that point or there won't _be _a groom," America said. Her tone was casual, but she absolutely meant it.

"I think she's a little protective of you, Katie," Billy laughed.

"She threatened your brother the same way yesterday, so don't get too comfy," Kate pointed out.

"My brother earned it," Billy said with a shrug. "He was going too far with the 'locker room' talk for anyone's tastes. I considered going in detail about my _own _stuff just to get him to shut up."

"I've mentioned that I love you, right?" Kate laughed.

"I could stand to hear it now and again," Billy said. "Love you too, by the way." He was grinning on saying it too.

"And because I love you, _I _will order the takeout. America goes outside our dimension and then laughs when you get food poisoning."

"You gotta let that go, Princess," America laughed.

"I can just magic something edible," Billy pointed out with a wave. "Or wish her into a blonde." He turned to catch her gaze. "Guy."

"That would be novel," America drawled out. "I've never been that fragile."

"I'll do it for your birthday then. Just for the voice drop."

"I'll record it," Kate promised.

"Then we can hire a drag queen to jump out of her cake, too … for the full effect."

"Perfect." Kate whipped out her phone to start ordering food. "Now. I'm getting Korean."

"Of course you are," Billy said, then shifted to settle in a little better. "Did you try that new Kurdish place? The babaganoush and tava was amazing."

"I took Mia in her inducer so she could get out and try new things. She liked it so much she wants to bring your brother there," Kate said, smiling more. "He might be an idiot, but I'm so glad they got together. He can get her out of the house, even if it's into trouble."

"She needs a little trouble," Billy said. "_All _of you repressed kids do."

"Include yourself in that, Billy-boy. Prince in the ivory tower and all that," America teased.

"Different kind of repression," he countered. "Mine's more just … exposure to people that aren't mutants." He gestured to both of them. "Oh look! Progress!"

America laughed and yanked on his arm to pull him closer so she could kiss his cheek. "And we're so proud of you."

"Just have to get Kate to stop making that face at me every time my grandfather comes up," Billy replied, shifting to lean on America, too.

"Only when he stops making a face at my existence," Kate sang out happily.

"Fair - but _I'm _not the one earning the Kate face of disapproval. That would be like me insisting on making faces at you until your mom decided not to have me on her 'undetermined' list. Or whatever. Like I'm out to _corrupt _my sweetheart. Please."

"Well you are his _first _boyfriend," America pointed out, though she was clearly amused.

"I will _try _to control my face," Kate teased. "But only because I love you so." She tossed a pillow his way. "The things I do for you, oh Genoshan prince."


	52. From Radio Silence To Shock And Awe

_A/N - Practically An Avenger - Your review made my whole day, my dear. Your Corsair shade was just. The best possible thing ever. I'm sorry you were upset, I am ... but ... are you surprised? And yes. of course it was a slumber party. HOW COULD IT NOT BE? With that in mind - please ... enjoy._

* * *

**Chapter 52 - From Radio Silence to Shock And Awe**

* * *

"You're _sure _you're up to a mission already?" James asked Nate as the team loaded up to go after a call from mutants in distress in one of the less _tolerant _boroughs of NYC.

"Wow. You really _are _worried about me lately. Are _you _okay, James?" Nate shot back, but when he got a more serious look from James he relented. "I promise, I'm all healed up," Nate said. "And I got a clean bill of health from Uncle Blue. Even Dad had to admit I'm alright."

James nodded to himself, but still took the copilot chair next to his little brother. "If something goes wrong — or you feel off _at all_—"

"I'm _fine_," Nate insisted. "Really. I just need to get out there and _do _something."

"Okay," James said, then leaned back in his seat, purposely not touching anything in the cockpit when he knew Nate _really _wanted to fly. "You know I have to check."

"Yeah, I know," Nate said. "But usually you leave it to Rachel."

"Rachel is going to be preoccupied trying to scan everyone for six city blocks to make sure that we're not going into a _reporting _zone," James pointed out. "And since the Avengers have been swamped with press and people wanting to know just who exactly we all are under the masks -"

"It's too late. They figured you out, big bro."

"Yeah, no kidding. I'm pretty sure that was a lost cause anyhow — trying to keep _that _quiet."

Nate smirked. "Dad talked with Rachel and I to make sure we know not to do anything like that."

"I had a good —"

"We know, we know," Nate said, waving him off. "It's just kind of funny to me that the one of us that was trying to toe the line the hardest and keep himself in the rules all the time was the one to break the biggest rule right out of the gate."

"Not _the _biggest one," James said, almost sullenly.

"Maybe, maybe not," Nate argued, since it really was unusual for James to bend the rules. Especially if it was a rule that Scott was honestly concerned over.

"Shut up and fly."

"How's the chatter on the dark web?"

"_Shut up_, Nate," James said, more serious this time.

"That bad?"

James sighed heavily and his shoulders slumped. "Kind of nonexistent, actually."

"Are you disappointed?"

"No, it's just …it's more likely that they have a plan to put into action, that's all," James said, turning his head to keep from giving away to his brother how concerned he was. "Natasha's keeping an eye open. Paranoia is high. Let's just … can we worry about that part later, huh?"

Nate nodded to himself as he got them airborne, and only didn't argue with any of it because Kate and Billy were cackling between themselves on their plans for the weekend. It was a rare kind of occasion in that Nate didn't have any sports to go to - and by default, Kate didn't have any cheerleading practice either - and because of that - and how paranoid their parents were after the accidental unmasking, both Summers boys had grudgingly agreed to go on a double date with their significant others for their first official outings after the busting. It was especially hard to escape after Kate insisted it was for 'Safety's sake' with wide eyes that never seemed to fail her when she was scamming Scott.

But while Billy and Kate were plotting and planning and _giggling_, Tommy and Mia were snuggling up and simply enjoying a few minutes that were relatively to themselves. Since she'd missed out on going to Genosha — which Storm absolutely forbid — Tommy had come back in full Prince Charming mode … at least _his _version of prince charming. It was obvious that he'd missed her in the week they were gone and he had been making up for time lost by spoiling her rotten.

They reached their destination quickly enough — and they'd been circling for a little while before finally, Rachel let out a breath. "Okay. I can't hear any honestly ill intentions toward _us _down there. Just the general hatred of mutants. Nothing specific or directed."

"Great, then we can get in, get the people in trouble, and get out," Nate decided as he headed for a clearing that would hold their mini-jet easily with enough room to keep it concealed.

As they landed, James double checked his panic buttons and Nate's — since it had become _such _a point of contention with the adults - before he got to his feet and got a quick kiss from Billy and a teasing one on the cheek from Kate.

"We just need to find the one in trouble," Rachel said. "Nate, Mia, and I can do that if you guys can hold them off."

"No problem," Tommy said, stretching out and making a show out of cracking his knuckles. "As long as these two can keep from starting a make-out session in the middle of the fight."

"No promises," James shot back, perfectly seriously as Billy grinned wider.

"You're trying to scar me for life," Tommy muttered, shaking his head as the door opened - and with a whoosh of wind, he was gone.

"So dramatic," James muttered — which was cue enough for Billy to show he wasn't going to be outdone by his speedster twin.

He grinned — and as his eyes lit up with a blue-white light, Billy floated up and out of the jet. The Summers kids shook their heads, but Nate, Mia, and Rachel grinned at James and disappeared in a swirl of purple-pink smoke leaving James as last out.

When he stepped out of the jet, he didn't see right away where the trouble was. It wasn't as overt as they were used to seeing. But the twins were already far ahead of him — and when he listened hard enough, he heard the muted _bamf _that told him where his siblings and Mia were. And he was pretty far behind the curve. So, James simply started to jog toward the sound of fighting. It was a little step the group had long ago agreed to — someone would be last in by a stretch to give them a back up in case there was a trap to be sprung, and this time, it was James playing last man standing.

As it turned out, the group of mutants in distress were surrounded by military looking troops and holding them at gunpoint. There were almost a dozen kids in varying stages of distress — most of them physically mutated, and half or more of those kids were clutching to an image inducer , shaking them — and as Nate and Rachel found out quickly enough — panicking internally at the unexplained failure. With a shared look, they looped in the rest of the team that was present so they could fight without openly telling the soldiers what they were up to.

The group had only done the team link up a handful of times, and Rachel was once again trying to control her inner sailor's mouth as she grumbled about James' lack of cooperation on that front. Like it or not, he was going to _have _to go along with it for situations like that. Even if she had to hit him - she was going to _make _him join in. It was outside of what they'd trained or planned for and with the soldiers they were seeing, it was a major problem for him to be out of the loop. "Stupid, stubborn _moron_," she grumbled out as she held up her hands to push the troops back from the group of captive mutants.

It gave the team room to move in and help — which was of course, jus what the larger, _unseen _group of soldiers was waiting for. Mia, Tommy, and Billy had moved in to free the prisoners. Billy was untying those that were restrained with rope while Tommy destroyed restraints and cage locks for a few of them and Mia picked the locks on the handcuffs. And as soon as the three of them were properly distracted, someone took a shot at Nate and Rachel using some sort of bolo that looped around them and tightened up the more they struggled.

A second bolo was fired but Mia disappeared in a swirl before it could wrap around her — though it did manage to catch Tommy — who was quick to start swearing and uttering curses at his displeasure. Not that it lasted with Billy there - _instantly _in a foul mood because of his brother's situation.

Kate rushed in to help Nate and Rachel — or at least cover them while Rachel burned the ropes off. Kate shot four arrows toward an advancing group just as Billy's eyes glowed and he began muttering something under his breath that had Tommy crowing about how screwed those soldiers were.

Meanwhile, James was four blocks from where they landed when he heard the rhythmic sound of marching boots — jingling in time together and obviously carrying _some _kind of ordinance with them. He frowned and turned his head toward the sound, but as he raised his hand toward the comm to ask for information from whoever was at the tower at the time, an explosion of blue light that could _only _have come from Wiccan caught his attention. He forgot all about the comm and rushed toward the center of the light that had blown all the windows out of a six story building only to be hit entirely off his feet when a massive guy tackled him from the side.

James turned his head — just in time to catch a fist to the face before he'd even hit the ground with the massive attacker still looming over him. He blocked the next hit without thinking about it, but couldn't stop the following two. Not without letting out a growl and going purely on instincts when he sent a handful of claws into the guy's shoulder then positively froze when his counterattack was answered with a bellowing roar and a slash of claws that hit James across his chest and one arm slicing him wide open.

James reacted without thinking — slashing his attacker across the face and neck with a snarl of his own - which was enough to knock the guy loose long enough for James to get on his feet to fight more squarely. "Who are you?" James asked with a growl lacing his tone thickly.

The blonde rolled his shoulders and smiled — or near enough to it as large bottom canine teeth protruded from his lip with a malicious looking grin. But the only answer from the stranger was a full frontal assault that gave James no time to do anything but fight back with everything he had.

The blown out windows were still raining glass down when quite suddenly, Billy's powers flickered and he fell four feet to the ground, no longer floating — and with no chaos magic to fuel him. "Kate," Billy called out, looking more nervous since he really _hadn't _practiced nearly enough without relying on his magic. "Do you have any extra toys to spare?"

"Just don't get grabbed," Nate said as he double checked the charge on his laser pistols. "I brought enough … I think."

The mutants that were to be rescued looked as if they were afraid to move — especially when they were very sure that the young X-Men there to save them were about to be captured themselves.

Tommy was more resourceful than he'd been given credit for though — and before anyone could stop him, he picked up a length of pipe and started swinging at soldiers that got too close to the captives. He was trying not to show his cards — which included a fair amount of panic on Mia's behalf since he didn't see where she'd disappeared.

Wisely, Mia had held tight to her perch high above the group. She'd tried to hit her panic button, but couldn't see if it had _worked _when the light wouldn't go on to _show _that it had been hit. And the precariousness of her perch had her holding on tight while her powers weren't working. She wasn't _sure _if her grip would work on walls if her teleportation was off … she'd never tried it and she wasn't about to do it now with soldiers everywhere.

Ad while most of the X-Men were fighting, Mia found herself shrinking away from the sounds _over _her head — Helicopters were coming in … circling … and they sounded a lot bigger than the news choppers and medical transports she'd heard in the past.

Of course, the fear of not being able to fight back what was in front of them disappeared when Billy's powers seemed to turn back on with a loud _snap _and another explosion of blue light. _He must have been trying to do that this whole time_, Mia thought to herself as Rachel's voice echoed in her head suddenly.

_Get down to level ground, _Rachel told her. _These jerks have multiple dampeners with them. I don't want you falling at the wrong time. _But she barely got her thought out before Mia was next to her, anxiously waving her tail behind her. "Just remember what we learned about hand to hand, okay? We've got plenty to fight either way."

* * *

Tommy rushed outside to find and back up James since he had been the only one missing for the duration of the fight and he knew if he didn't look with all those soldiers around them, Billy would be freaking out in no time. But he didn't have to go too far as he stumbled upon the big fight between James and the massive blond. Both of them were bloodied up pretty badly and James' uniform was a _joke _at that point for how shredded and bloodied it was, but somehow, more alarming than that was the fact that he was using his claws. That was something Tommy simply hadn't _seen. _

"I found him," Tommy said in his comm. "But he's not …okay, he's fighting some creep that's slashing him up pretty badly and there are reinforcements circling so … we need to -you know … save our idiot Wolverine who can't see what's going on around him. Oh, and by the way, _he's using his claws_. That is just … so weird."

"What?" Nate said, picking his head up and rushing for the door, though more than half of the team was echoing the same sentiment, even as they tried to wrangle the rescued mutants too. When they caught up to where they could see the fight, it was a shock to watch. James had excelled at learning every form of martial arts that had been put in front of him by Tony or Steve, and he'd always been an impressive fighter … but it wasn't enough against this guy.

The blonde wasn't even using much finesse in his attack - more like all claws, hard hits, and dirty tricks that clearly _hurt_. What's more — it seemed like James had all but forgotten _most _of his training the more angry he got and was just … lashing out in response to the attacks.

Nate picked up his rifle and tried to take aim — but the two of them were moving too fast and he didn't want to risk shooting his brother. Even if it _was _non-lethal. And he couldn't really _see _if James was anywhere close to getting the upper hand. He had full faith that James would … he always seemed to … but at risk of quoting Kate … this looked bad.

The blond had just swiped at James as the two passed each other and though James had hit him hard, the creep had also left James with five long jagged tears down his back. As James turned, the blond took a hold of James' wrist and swung him like a rag doll. James hit the corner of a brick building, and by the time he'd hit the sidewalk, the guy was reaching for him again. He picked James up by his hair and had his arm wrapped around his chest from behind - pinning his arms to his side, but as the blond started to take a few steps, Nate took a shot. The round hit the blonde in his shoulder - almost to his neck- but it wasn't enough to make him drop James and instead, he turned to use him as a human shield as he sought cover.

It was enough for James to get the presence of mind to take the opening and send a set of claws through the guy's stomach, though. The roar in his ear left him reeling, but he saw how dire the circumstances really were when he _finally _spotted the black-clad soldiers closing in from a few blocks out. On seeing them moving in — and knowing they were for him, James froze for an _instant_. He'd grown up knowing that black-clad soldiers would try to take him. He knew it wasn't an idle threat — but to see it in person, with his own eyes was honestly _terrifying. _He squirmed in the guy's grip and pushed back on him, trying desperately to get him to _let go_, but the massive blond had him outclassed, strength-wise.

As the soldiers started to fire on the X-Men from further out in an attempt to keep them back, James managed to focus enough to remember some of what Natasha had taught him when he was _small. _It wasn't much, and it wasn't something he'd been able to practice now that he was nearly as tall as Steve and Tony, but … none of the usual fighting tactics were _working_. Even his best hits weren't sticking for long on this guy, and when he finally saw that the blond was slowly dragging him closer to the soldiers in spite of all the hassle James was giving him, there was no doubt that if he didn't get away from them, that would be it for James. If he couldn't fight one guy off ... it was game over.

A helicopter overhead reminded James that most — if not all of it — might be broadcast, which meant that if it was, their Dad was more than likely watching. He needed to get away from this guy. _Fast_. Before he could overthink it - or the blonde could make more progress, James twisted his arm and got a hold of the guy below the belt - just to grab a handful of whatever he could and twist. Predictably, the blonde did _not _appreciate it, though instead of letting him go, he dropped, falling over James enough that he couldn't just shake loose of him. He could hear Tommy working his way closer - which was good. A few seconds with Tommy outside of a dampener would cure all the stupid this monster was dragging around with him, but … Tommy needed to get to him first - and the solders with their dampening zones were making that frustratingly difficult.

But then James got enough of an opening to make it a clear shot when he kicked the guy just above the outside of his knee as hard as he could. He was _hoping _that they were in one of the dampener zones when he did it — then he might have a chance to stop the guy. But outside of getting in a few good shots that made the creep let him go for a moment — and get a new grip on him — it wasn't enough.

The blonde caught James' fist when he threw a punch and James popped his claws through the guy's hand. The blonde started to twist his wrist — and it was enough to force James' arm out and away even though he wasn't _holding _James' fist. His free hand darted up and wrapped around James' throat as he picked him up and slammed him against the back of a pickup truck that was parked in the street. The guy was strong enough, that it both felt and looked effortless on his part as he slammed James a few times, chuckling low the whole time as he knocked James silly. And every time James hit his head, he lost a little more of his ability to do _anything _but try to pry the blond's hand off of his neck.

Rachel could barely see what was going on — and more scary than the fight itself to her was the _sounds _coming from the fight. At first, from her angle, all she could see was the two guys brawling. Terrifyingly, the growls and _honest snarls _were hair raising - especially when she knew her little brother didn't really _do _that. But … when she heard the cracks as James was thrown around … followed by the drop off of what she knew well enough was James' growls, she set their team to work to get _rid _of their idiotic dampeners. She couldn't _risk _her team - _her family_ \- and the only way to be effective was for them to be able to use what they had been born with to fight back _an army_.

Billy _hated _that Rachel was right, too … and it seemed like just about the time he'd get a spell well under way, a dampener would pop up near them destroying his spell and honestly pissing him off worse. But the group of them could get rid of the dampeners that were keeping them back from James. He just hoped he didn't have to do something _drastic _if they'd _taken him _by the time they got their job done.

Another hard crack echoed the street and James' growl fell off entirely. He was seeing double and he could smell and taste blood as he mentally catalogued 'massive head trauma' just to keep himself _awake_. The angle that the blonde had James pinned was an awkward one and it was everything James could do to hold the guy at bay. He was pushing with the arm the guy had a hold of, though he couldn't keep pressure up forever when the angle was so _bad _and his free arm was still busy trying to pry the guy's fingers from around his throat. James started to panic freshly when the blond's claws started to sink into his neck so he did the only thing he could and popped the claws on his free hand to stab the guy high in the chest.

The grip around his throat disappeared— fast enough to leave claw marks as the guy grabbed James' wrist before he could twist it or draw back and James leaned toward him to try and get some leverage to get loose. He never saw it coming when the blond shifted the arm that was pinned by his claws to simply snap James's claws clean off.

A small battalion of soldiers whistled and cheered as James couldn't stop the scream that followed a knee wobbling wave of nausea that had him losing what little ground he had. While he was still reeling, the blond reached out and repeated the action with James's other set of claws leaving him effectively weaponless while the guy manhandled him. And every movement the blond made was accented as he ripped into James' flesh with long, curved, razor-sharp lion's claws.

The soldiers were only a few buildings away and it was clear to all of the kids that they were set to recover. There were two different choppers coming in low, looking for a place to land and seeing them moving in had James more desperate than he had been before. He tried to rally, knowing he was losing, and raged, roared, and pushed as hard as he could, but when the blond had him by a foot in every direction, and James had lost _so much steam_ … he honestly didn't have the strength. He could hardly remember feeling so helpless, and for an instant, he considered giving up. But only for an instant.

As he pushed hard to angle away from the truck, his opponent pushed harder until James couldn't stop the cry of pain as his wrists were crushed when the blond pushed him into another pin. It was rough and only worked by virtue of James just being _done._ He had no room to move and the hair on his neck moved from the simple action of the blond breathing. He was working hard to hold James, even if he had already essentially won, James wasn't making it easy on him to _keep _holding him. When James glanced up to meet the guy's gaze, the blond's lip curled back in a cruel sort of snarl inches away.

James frowned harder while the blonde smiled crookedly with a wicked sort of glint in his eyes that only looked nastier as James struggled to pull his wrists free, though he held his breath in a panic when he _thought _he heard someone talking through a comm that wasn't his. It was whisper quiet, even to James' ears, but it quickly echoed louder when the blonde rasped out 'that's it. Keep fighting …'m gonna tear your throat out.' James held his breath and his body went into autopilot. He wasn't even _thinking_, and he certainly wasn't planning as he went for the only move that was available to him to get blondie to back off when he was _winning_.

He wasn't growling anymore as he stared at the blond _inches _from his face. And since force simply wasn't moving the mountain, James blinked twice, thought about it for every bit of a tenth of a second, then tipped his head and kissed him hard, square on the mouth.

From there a few things happened very quickly. The blond startled back - shocked enough to let James go entirely - which was just enough time for James to register that Tommy had positively _hit the ground_ nearby laughing himself silly in spite of the severity of their situation. James had glanced at Tommy with a frown, then gathered his senses up enough to kick the blonde back a few paces and an instant later the blonde had come _completely _unhinged and attacked him again - all claws and teeth and _rage_. His first strike knocked James into the pickup truck hard enough to move the truck almost entirely across the street with him. He felt several bones break with the impact, and he couldn't move his legs when he hit the ground after the truck came to a stop.

When James was unable to draw a decent breath … he knew more than a few things were _definitely _broken from the pounding he'd taken. He couldn't quite move from that last injury - and as the blond charged with a snarl with spittle dripping from his lips, there was a whole _lot _of blue light all around James suddenly and the blonde didn't touch him. James turned his head to watch what was happening since he had _nothing _to contribute in his current state. He could see that Billy was handling that situation neatly both looking and sounding entirely furious while James was overwhelmed from the sudden drop off of adrenaline and the sense that regardless of what these people thought, the battle was over now. Yes, they were still in danger, but Billy was doing his shock and awe thing while Tommy, Nate, and Rachel had the soldiers confused, and a moment later, Mia appeared just a few feet away from James to lay a hand on his shoulder ready to teleport him away if need be.

"What's broken?" Mia asked with wide eyes. "I heard something crack."

"Oh, I don't know," James said, then paused when he realized exactly how much was hurting or bleeding even as his body stitched itself back together. His claws were _gone_ \- lying on the ground bloody and within sight. His wrists had been crushed, his ribs and back ached when he breathed and he was pretty sure one leg wasn't operating right at _all, _though at least he was starting to _feel _his legs again_. _ He touched his ear then cringed not only from the action itself, but when he saw he was still bleeding from his ears, too. Instead of his usual bluster, James sunk down onto the concrete. "Maybe everything. I just … I'm gonna just stay right here for a while."

There was another flash of blue light not too unlike lightning as Mia tried to rearrange James all the same. "I think your boyfriend is a little jealous," Mia said at a whisper. Which was exactly when there was an echoing, sharp-sounding snap and every mutant that the team had rescued -all of whom were still wearing a collar that Mia couldn't pick - dropped where they stood.

None of the kids seemed to realize what had happened for a moment, and it was Nate who cautiously reached out to one of the kids they'd helped this far. He paled a moment later and stared at his sister wide-eyed as the realization hit the rest of them.

But it was the worst move those soldiers could have made.

Billy's eyes glowed brighter and with a word that none of them quite understood, Billy closed his fist and every scrap of weaponry and communication device rocketed away from the soldiers as the men themselves dropped to the ground unconscious. It didn't matter what material it was made of - if it was a weapon or something capable of broadcasting or transmitting … they lost it.

The weapons all came to rest in a pile under Billy's feet, and though the act in itself was an impressive display of power, Rachel couldn't help but frown at one small section of metal that was covered in blood. Nothing else was bloodied … but that …

She took a few steps toward Billy as he scowled menacingly at the soldiers, hands still outstretched and searching for more from any hiding opposition. It wouldn't be hard for _anyone _to see the similarities between Billy and Magneto right then.

Rachel knelt down to look at the bloodied metal. "What is this thing?" she asked no one in particular before she started scanning the unconscious minds around her. She knew no one in _their _team would know. She didn't know if the men in unmarked black suits would would know either, so she tried those that seemed to have been the biggest key players - starting with a commander just a few hundred yards away.

"What do we do with them now?" Tommy asked as he kicked one of the soldiers that was starting to stir.

"Call in SHIELD," Nate said, looking worn for wear, but incredibly relieved that this fight was over.

"No," Billy replied, barely looking at Nate before he concentrated on one wave of soldiers and made them disappear. "We put them where they belong."

"Wait," Nate said, wide-eyed at the large swath of missing soldiers, but before he could say another word another platoon worth of them had disappeared to who knows where.

By that time, Rachel was kneeling next to the massive blonde and going through his mind with a frown the deeper she looked. Before Billy could fully turn toward them, she reached out to him telepathically. _Wait. You need to see this. _Since Billy wasn't following their usual protocols of discussion or permission, Rachel pulled his consciousness with her into the blonde's mind to see what the man had been thinking only to find that there was a massive void from several years earlier. The only thing in the blackness were a few muddied images of missions that he'd been on - but very little of that was lucid thought - and what _was _lucid thought was a panicked overtone as he did unspeakable acts to what looked like innocent mutants.

_He's not in control of himself,_ Rachel told Billy as they left the blond's mindscape. _We need to take him to the tower. Betsy can help figure out what's going on with him, but I'm telling you … there is no memory of what he was doing to James. Someone else was in control. _

_How? _Billy asked, still livid, though tempered since he knew Rachel wouldn't _lie _to him.

_I don't know, _Rachel admitted. _But I think it has something to do with that bloodied … thing. And that … that … might be the same kind of thing that killed those kids. _

Not that her answer had Billy looking any less livid. _Fine. I want to know who this guy is before I send him with the others._

"Um … quick question," Mia said, holding one finger up. "Where … are all those soldiers?"

Billy frowned, and the glowing light from his eyes finally faded. "Genoshan prison, of course."

"But … we're not Genoshan," Nate pointed out, looking past Billy at James, who was fighting to stay semi-conscious as he remained where he was, stretched out and bleeding.

"They attacked us," Billy said, then belatedly gestured to himself and his brother. "And it's the one place that will make _sure _they pay for their crimes."

"See? Totally jealous," Mia laughed in a whisper to James.

"Nah," James said, wincing as he tried to find a comfortable position. "He'd do that for anyone."

"Oh wow, you have some _serious _head trauma," Mia snickered, though there wasn't much joy to it when James was still that torn up. "You need a new uniform," she pointed out. "And clothes for the ride home."

James had his eyes closed as he tried not to move. "Explains why I'm cold …" He picked up his head and looked toward his feet, which were bare before he set his head down again. "Did he knock me out of my _boots_?"

"I hate to be the one to break it to you, but he knocked you all over the place," Mia said. "The _claws _were a … um … scary addition. When did you practice with them?"

"I didn't," James said, then tented one hand over his eyes. "Which is probably why I sucked so bad and got my ass kicked six ways to Sunday."

"That and that guy's a futzing _wall_," Kate said.

"At least I kept most of my mask this time," James said dryly in a weak attempt at a joke when there was very little _else _left of his uniform. Things _inside _were stitching themselves up, which meant there were still open, non-life threatening injuries that were bleeding. And his arm and hands were raw feeling for how much they hurt.

Just as they were turning their attention to each other, Tommy realized - and pointed out to the others - that the jet was on fire, which left them open and stranded. Even if it was _just _still in the city. "We need a new 'exit strategy' or something," Tommy said as Billy finally crouched down next to James. Billy still looked angry, but now it was tempered with concern over how injured James was.

"I can catch a cab if you're not done being impressive and all '_tremble, puny humans_'," James said, then cringed sharply and sucked in a breath when Billy touched him.

"I can get you to _safety_ better and faster than a cab," Billy said, though it was obvious he didn't know how to proceed when James was still in extreme pain.

"Just don't forget to magic that … _thing _to James' lab," Rachel said. "We need to know what it is."


	53. Explain Yourself

_A/N - Practically An Avenger - omg. you are cracking me up. here ... just for you. Giving Tommy an early birthday present was probably my favorite part of that review. And yes. He is his mother's son for sure. (Much love!) _

* * *

**Chapter 53 - Explain Yourself**

* * *

Scott had never missed having a teleporter around as much as when Ororo had called him up, in a panic, telling him that the Avengers were getting real-time intel on the X-Men's mission and had confirmed a seven-foot blonde healer with _claws_ attacking James.

He knew for a fact that Ororo would be flying to the tower, though she'd also be keeping herself out of sight as much as possible, and she had a longer distance to travel. So he had an even chance of getting there before she did. Possibly even before the kids got back.

And they _were _on their way back. That much he'd managed to get Natasha to confirm for him when he called her. But the facts on the ground were still changing, and there was so much they needed the kids there to confirm that the Avengers didn't have enough answers for Scott's liking.

Because the last damn time a Creed had been anywhere _near _his family…

Scott went right past Jarvis to where the Avengers were gathered, and already, he didn't like what he was hearing. James was hurt, and it sounded like someone with all the right know-how had made a decent play for the kids. One that could very well have _worked_, too.

Add to that the fact that the Avengers were shaken by the _deaths _of every mutant those kids had been trying to save, and Scott was starting to feel more and more like this story was _way _too familiar.

Scott didn't have too much time to get lost in the similarities before Ororo arrived, wearing almost exactly the same expression Scott was. This was, after all, exactly what they had been worried about - exactly why Ororo had been keeping the school as quiet as possible and why Scott had kept his kids out of the spotlight.

And, as luck would have it, Ororo arrived exactly as the kids did. Their jet had been trashed, so they arrived in different waves, with Mia, Tommy, and Billy getting everyone to the tower as close to instantaneously as possible - which meant Ororo nearly stepped into blue smoke when Mia teleported practically on top of her mom.

Billy had brought James and had been sure to magic him into a _seat _when he was still obviously concerned about the state of his boyfriend. Mia had teleported the remaining Summers siblings, which meant Tommy came in two waves, first carrying in Kate bridal style just so he could deposit her in Clint's arms and then he came back with a very large Creed, who was not so ceremoniously deposited.

"What _happened_?" Jan asked as she flitted forward, not to the kids, but to help the still-bleeding Creed as Hank rushed along side her - then passed her by to look over the kids when he saw that the Creed boy was unconscious. "And where did he even _come from_?"

"Jan!" both Scott and Tony said at the same time, in almost the same tone, which had them both sharing a look that only lasted as long as it took for Jan to roll her eyes at both of them.

"He is _unconscious_," she said with one hand on her hip. "What's he gonna do? _Bleed on me_?" She shook her head as she started cleaning him up. "If he starts to move, then you can panic. But right now? There are enough _other kids _that need help that I think you can deal with _them_, thanks."

"Pretty sure Katie has a concussion," Clint said, sounding stressed as he inspected where the blood had matted Kate's hair, even though she was trying to bat him away and point out that James had it worse - which wasn't a great argument to make when she couldn't heal or when Hank chose Kate to assess first.

"I'm fine," Mia said, trying to fluff up the section of fur on her arm that had been singed and totally downplaying the cut under her eye, though that seemed to be a theme as Tommy squinted out of a rapidly swelling black eye pretending like that was perfectly normal for him.

In fact, if anything, besides James, Nate and Kate were the worst off, which meant Rachel was already fretting over Nate and hissing at him to _be more careful_, since this was the second mission he'd gotten hurt on and there was no way he'd be allowed to play football until his head stopped looking like he'd been in a _fight. _

James _was _cringing away from being touched at all - especially when anyone tried to touch his hands or arms, all while muttering that he was fine and ignoring the blood at his ears - and just about everywhere else. He was just too hurt for them to believe and too young to believably blow it off like Logan would have, though he was still trying all the same. But that only had Hank gently trying to assess his _other _injuries first and handing him what he needed to clean up the blood from his nose, ears, and mouth. Hank was frowning as he watched James's hands shake as he concentrated on holding the supplies until Billy took over, refusing to let James wave him off.

So it really was a mark of how shaken Scott was by seeing a _Creed _that it took him several long seconds before he tore his gaze away from the unconscious blond - and Jan - and slipped over to where James was, wincing in sympathy before he'd even sat down. "What's broken?" he asked.

"I don't know at this point. A lot," James answered frankly, unable to keep the growl out of his tone for as much as he was hurting. "My claws are gone, too."

There was a full beat of silence from Scott as he processed that. "...gone?"

"He snapped them off," James answered. "I didn't even mean to _use _them."

"Snapped them…" Scott locked down his jaw, doing his level best not to pick his family up and move _on the spot_. Because, God help him, this was too familiar.

"Pretty sure they're trying to re-grow," James said. "If what it _feels like _is any marker. Just not the priority yet."

Scott's jaw looked like it wasn't going to come unlocked anytime soon, and even Ororo's eyes were starting to flash, so Rachel stepped in before either of them could get any _more _lost in what had happened to their old team.

"He was being controlled," she said. Then, when she caught both of them staring at her, she bit her lip. "I just… before you get too mad at him, you should know… I looked in his mind, and he was _not _the one pulling the strings." Something fiery flashed in her eyes. "He's the only mutant we managed to _save _today."

"He definitely didn't react like a normal person," James agreed. "He didn't - or couldn't - answer anything. All he could say was just the same threats over and over."

"Did anything he had to say give any clues on who was pulling the strings?" Steve asked.

James shook his head at that. "No, I think the boots on the ground in black were a bigger tip off." He turned to watch Billy, unwilling to be the one to say what Billy had done. "But I can't give you more than that. They had no indicators on who they represented."

"I'm on it," Natasha said and slipped out of the room, looking furious enough that no one was going to stop her even to offer help.

"Well, uh, Billy magicked them into Grandfather's prisons, so we'll _proooooobably _know more things soon enough," Tommy pointed out.

"They were asking for it," Billy said, entirely unapologetic.

James nodded, trying not to lose the even and serious expression. "Yeah, I saw the tear on the hem of your cape. How dare."

Scott pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is exactly what I was worried about," he muttered under his breath.

"Dad, we're alright," Nate said - his point belied by the fact that the bump on his head was getting steadily more discolored. "Besides, you're the one that taught us how to defend ourselves. Specifically if we ran into this _kind _of problem, too."

"Um," Tommy said, holding up one finger. "We _obviously _didn't get all the same kinds of classes in that. And I _need _the recording of that big brawl for my own purposes. To _learn_."

"I think I get it now," James told Billy quietly. "How that story happened that you were telling me about? Totally get it."

"You mean wishing him away?" Billy asked softly, and when James nodded, so did Billy, though he had to point out something important. Particularly since Billy was still mad. "_You_ are going to have to apologize and explain yourself, you know."

James had just started to agree when the blonde took in a sharp breath and everyone nearest him jumped back away from him. The blonde scrambled backward, obviously terrified at the odd surroundings and unfamiliar faces. And amazingly, James leaned forward as he watched him scramble. The guy was believably terrified as he looked from one famous face to the next - then shifted his focus to the kids. Though he looked even more confused at that and he stopped outright when he focused on James.

"_You. _Why did you … _why would you do that_?" he blurted out.

"Question of the day from everyone, see?" Tommy said, starting to grin, even if the adults in the room were dead serious.

"Got him to _stop_, didn't it?" James shot back.

"Because no one expects to be kissed in battle like being beaten up is an _aphrodisiac_," Kate sang out, slightly louder than she meant to because the adrenaline comedown and the concussion was starting to show.

"Told you he has a thing for people that are more powerful than he is," Nate said to Kate, who rewarded him with a giggle in spite of the severity of the situation.

"Oh my _God_, I hate you both," James said, one hand over his eyes.

Scott turned to look at James, some of the lines gone from his face as a few different emotions warred for control of his expression. "You… what?"

James gestured openly. "He was taking me to a _chopper_. He just broke my claws- it was the first thing that popped into my head that I thought might _work_. So _yes_, I kissed him. _To stop him_."

Scott very _nearly _smiled as the rest of the adults all shared a knowing look. "You are, _so very much_, your mother's son."

"That … is a new one," James said, frowning at Scott.

"She had a way of thinking outside the box," Scott said with a wry smile. "And I've told you before - you've got her sense of humor."

"Okay. Fine. But now I'm never going to hear the end of it from those _lunatics_," James said, then turned back toward Tommy and Kate. "It was just to get _away_."

"They wouldn't have been _allowed_ to leave with you," Billy said.

James' focus shifted to Billy. "You say that _now_. I didn't think anyone could get close enough to help." But their discussion was interrupted by Tommy.

"Kinda surprised we didn't have to witness a full on make out sesh after that save then. _Power surge,_" Tommy sang out with an obnoxious grin. "You were so right, Kate."

"_Shut up_," James grumbled as Rachel turned toward the blond.

"Who are you?" Rachel asked as James made a face at Tommy and Billy kept splitting his focus between fretting over James and waiting for the blond to say the wrong thing so he could send him to his grandfather's prisons.

"No one important," the blond said, doing his best to look smaller than his seven foot tall frame could ever allow. "Just a dumb kid that got picked up for breathing. You know …"

"They picked you up for more than that," Clint said, shaking his head.

"I was leading a mutual group on a canoe trip," he said. "We were _camping_."

"A canoe trip?" Ororo repeated, one eyebrow arched high on her forehead.

"Yes. With other kids from my church." He held up one hand slightly. "My name is Tyler Creed, by the way. Is there any chance I can find out if my mom is still alive?"

Most of the others were still processing the phrases "church" and "camping" and "canoe trip" with a Creed, but Jan let out a little noise and darted over toward him. "Of course we can look!" she promised. "What's her name? I'll find her."

"Daisy Smith. I know, we don't have the same last name" Tyler shrugged. "It's a horrible story, and I'd rather not repeat it, if it's all the same. It's _her _story anyhow."

Ororo's mouth was pressed in a thin line. "We can guess," she said simply. Then, taking a step forward, she said, "But what we cannot do is guess what _your _story is. What can you tell us about how you came to be here?"

"Right," Tyler said, nodding to himself. "I don't … actually remember too much," he said. "One minute we were camping - and I thought I heard some helicopters, but it was dark and it never got too loud .. oh, my hearing is really good? But I still couldn't hear them very well. Anyhow … one second we were making s'mores and telling stories at the fire an the next … we had guns in our faces by these soldiers in black. They shot me and dragged me off - they took a few of the others too. I know that because … those people are horrible."

"Go on," Hank said, watching him with his arms crossed.

Tyler looked around the room, his gaze hesitating on the ladies among them. "It's not polite to say all that they did to me, but … it was awful. And when I wouldn't _hurt people _… they held me down and put something in my head." Tyler's face contorted at the memory. "I only remember little bits after that. Like I was watching through a TV or something, even though I could smell everything and I could hear people screaming sometimes ... "

"You don't remember _anything_ after they took you?"

Tyler gestured to James. "That kiss was the first thing I've reacted to _myself _since they put that thing in my head." His hand drifted up to the back of his head.

"What are you talking about?" Tony interjected looking serious.

"I'm not sure what it was, but it was covered in blood," Rachel said.

"I sent it to James' lab," Billy said with a little shrug.

"Yeah, no," Tony said. "He's not touching that thing - whatever it was."

"I can _look _at it," James argued, but Tony looked a little too stressed out to argue with. "Or .. not."

"How'd you get it out, anyhow?" Tyler asked Rachel.

"That was me," Billy said, waving the tips of his fingers. "Reactionary spell just before I sent the soldiers to my grandfather's prisons." He looked over to meet Scott's gaze, his hands up when he saw the sharp expression Scott was wearing. "They has just killed those kids. I … lost my temper."

"That was _not _you losing your temper," Tommy said - always happy to bust someone out.

"Yes it was," Billy argued with a frown, but Tommy just laughed.

"If you'd lost your temper, you would have _wished them out of existence_," Tommy said, smirking crookedly. "Or did you wish them away and you're _saying _they're in Grandfather's prisons?"

"You can do that?" Tyler asked, wide eyed as he stared at Billy.

"Oh. _You _wouldn't have gotten off that easy," Tommy said, which had Billy joining James at giving him a dirty look.

"Don't make it sound so ominous," James grumbled. "You're exaggerating."

"Not really," Tommy argued quietly, though he left it alone for the time being. Obviously Billy's boyfriend was _delusional_.

"Well, however you got it out - _thank you_," Tyler said. "I just … I want to go back to living my life."

"That's … probably not possible," James said. "You're on their radar - they probably won't just forget you exist."

"They might," Tyler said, looking hopeful, but James shook his head slowly. "I don't think they even know what I can do."

"You're a _feral_," Ororo said. "The department has always prized those endowed with your gifts."

"No, right, I know," Tyler said. "But that's not all I do." He held up one hand and gently rested it on Nate's arm.

Scott began to rush forward, but Nate was quick to project _loudly _to him to wait. _I'm keeping an eye on things, Dad. If he so much as thinks too hard about doing something he shouldn't -_

_You don't know …. That's Sabretooth's _son_, Nate. _

_And Rachel is watching too,_ Nate promised. _Look at her. _

Scott looked over to Rachel, who was on alert with fire in the centers of her pupils. But that wasn't exactly relaxing or reassuring to Scott.

A moment or two later, it was obvious that Tyler was concentrating, and for an instant Nate closed his eyes and ended up taking a step backward as the knot on his head disappeared. Tyler barely thought about it after he let go of Nate and stepped forward to offer Kate his hand. "That concussion won't take long to fix … and I can check to make sure you don't have anything _else _wrong while you're concussed."

"You _heal_," Steve said, looking shocked. "Not … just yourself … you heal others."

"Well, I thought my healing was pretty good," Tyler said. "I'm way faster than everyone else, anyhow."

"Good, then you can help my boyfriend after you trashed him," Billy said, waving Tyler over. "Just keep your lips to yourself."

"Yeah, not really my type," Tyler said with a smirk. "But it totally woke me up, so I guess … thanks?"

"Never again," James swore as Tyler rested a hand on James' shoulder and his other hand on his wrist, though James was still flinching at even being touched. But that fell to the wayside quickly when Tyler very nearly dropped James' arm.

"Wow," he said, blinking and already looking like he'd run a sprint. "That … you're like fighting a white water rapid."

"I don't know what that means," James said as Nate turned to his dad and said 'I'm starving.'

"It means … most people are like working with a trickle of water … something I can redirect and make heal faster than they're used to," Tyler said. "You? It's like trying to swim upstream in a class five white water river or … going against a rip tide." He blinked at James. "I've _never _seen anyone even _close _ to that before."

"It's fine, I'll heal up on my own," James said as he squeezed Billy's hand. "Like I always do."

Tyler paused and offered James his hand again. "I _could _tell your medics what you broke though. If I'm fast."

"Please," Hank said, entranced with watching Tyler work, though once Tyler started on the list, he began to turn more and more red as he saw what kind of damage he'd caused.

_What's the story? _Scott projected out, not at all surprised that Nate and Rachel both were still listening for him.

_As far as I can dig into his head? Exactly what he's telling you_, Rachel replied. _They were using him for … whatever, and though he can remember a few flashes, there isn't really _anything _that's useful to say what he did or what was done to him or what kinds of things they used him for. _

_I'll talk to him, _Scott told her as he looked Nate over for any injury- though even some of the older bruises he'd been sporting seemed to be gone entirely. _He needs to understand what he's facing. _

_And Kate could really use a buddy that can undo her Hawkeye-ness, _Nate added. The three of them turned to listen to what Tyler was telling Hank - a whole laundry list of broken bones and injured organs along with his confusion on the claws in James' arms.

"It feels like there should be something there, but it's not," Tyler said, staring at James wide-eyed. "Is that part of _your _mutation?"

"You mean aside from not letting healers heal me?" James asked, then nodded. "Yeah. I know what you're missing. Based on what I know about my powerset, they'll grow back."

"Your _bones?" _

"They don't call it a 'regenerative' healing factor for nothin'," James pointed out. "It _should _grow back, and if not? Oh _darn_."

"Is there anything that's out of place?" Hank asked, gently re-directing Tyler's attention.

"I mean … some, but I could feel it moving as I was trying to look," he said.

"Then I'm afraid, Mr. Maximoff," Hank said as he stepped in and took a gentle hold on James' arm. "I'm going to insist that our young Mr. Howlett be redirected to medical intervention."

"It will heal-"

"I swear to you, James," Hank said in a growl. "If you tell me that it will heal on its own, I will pummel you about the head and shoulders. Do not impede my ability to perform my duties."

"Hard to do that when you're so quick about it," James said as he gave Billy a wry smile. "Come see me when you find out what the story is?"

"Are you going to apologize?"

"Deeply and sincerely. But I can't do that in front of an audience," James shot back with a troublemaking smile. "I'll get _grounded_ again."

"_Why are you like this?_" Nate called out.

"Head trauma, according to the new guy," James called back, which left the rest of the team smiling as Tyler made his way around them all to patch them up.

And as soon as the kids were all being attended to - and had drifted away from Tyler, Scott made his way over to break the bad news to him.

"You're not going to be able to just go back to your old life," Scott told him quietly once he was away from the others. "They found you when no one knew you were a feral mutant. They used you _successfully_. They won't let this drop."

"They could …"

Scott shook his head. "They won't. But … we can help you to be more safe."

"But ... " Tyler looked more upset not that he was alone with Scott and Steve. "... I was supposed to go to _college_. I was going to try to get into medical school - you know, so I can learn how to help the things that my powers _don't _repair. I can't … I ... " Tyler looked visibly stressed as his voice cracked and he lost all of his bluster. "Can I please call my mom now?" he asked in a quiet tone. "I need to know if she's okay. Please."

"Of course," Steve agreed as he gestured for Tyler to follow him. "But Scott's right. You can't go back to your old life. It's too dangerous for your family. And as far as the schooling goes, we can help you figure something out. In the meantime … you'll need to find a place to stay."

"Like a halfway home for kidnapped mutants-turned-weapons?" Tyler asked, sounding as if that was a horrible idea. "I remember what happened to the X-Men. I'd rather not put a target on my back like they did."

The comment was enough to stop Scott in his tracks, and he shook his head before starting up behind the two of them. How was it that this kid - who was only a little older than Rachel - _got it _when his own kids were pushing to do _more _with the X-Men and painting the targets on their backs with neon, glow in the dark paint heavier and heavier every day?

Before Scott could form a thought in the kids' defense, Steve was already on it. "First of all, that's exactly why the kids re-started the X-Men. Because right now, there's very little stopping those weapons programs and others from doing to others what was done to you. And it needs to stop. It never should have happened to begin with."

"Okay, yeah, I can agree with that," Tyler said, looking almost sheepish for his initial outlook on the X-Men. There was a beat of silence before Tyler asked another important question. "I'm not going to be allowed to go to that school in Westchester, am I?"

Steve looked over his shoulder at Scott, then recomposed himself quickly. "We'll talk it over with Storm - she's the headmistress there - but I think until we figure out what's going on with that device, I think it's best if you stay in a more secure place."

"So… your'e going to lock me up," Tyler said, nodding slowly.

"No," Steve said, shaking his head. "We'll give you a room here - and we'll figure out how we're going to get you in school _safely_. We're actually pretty good at that."

"But first," Scott said, interrupting them. "You really should talk to your mother. It's possible she might need a relocation too."


	54. Keeping Secrets

_A/N - Practically An Avenger - there is so much I want to address, but alas ... it might wreck things. BUT ... fear not. Apologies like James had to do are apologies best kept behind closed doors in privacy. On your scale of 1-100, that had to score about a 500, but not to keep from being wished from existence. I don't think he'd do that to him. He's definitely too cute. As far as Tyler waking up from a James kiss ... that ... is something Tyler has to deal with. I cannot answer all of your questions as some of them will be answered in time. (seriously, this is written waaaaay ahead) But you have amazing questions that get us talking, so please, keep them coming! ((and for the record, in my head, Viper and Red Skull have a daughter in this universe named Katarina. If we see her or not ... I cannot say. But because of immeasurable dickishness, Red Skull is not allowed to have a son. Ever.))_

* * *

**Chapter 53 - Keeping Secrets**

* * *

The soldiers that Billy had sent to the prisons of Genosha had been _far _more loose-lipped once Erik and his men got started on ferreting out their secrets - and when Erik heard that the men had been given orders initially to _only _grab James and Rachel, Erik hadn't been surprised in the least.

However … it seemed that their superiors figured out quickly enough who William and Thomas were after seeing what they could _do_ with the team - and the twins were now close to the top of several secret government agencies watch lists. If it wasn't so damned dangerous for them, Erik would have been proud to hear it. But it posed a nasty problem that Erik needed to attend to sooner than later.

He needed his grandsons safe sooner than later by any means necessary, which meant he needed them _home_. And Erik was very sure he knew how to get at least _one _of his grandsons to turn his back on the world at large. He simply needed to approach things properly and use the proper bait.

He waited until he knew that the boy would be alone before he made his appearance. He was far more gentle this time when he peeled open the metal surrounding the windows of the high rise lab overlooking the city. As before, papers swirled and plants swayed in the wind until Erik re-sealed the glass magnetically, then barred the door so their conversation could be mostly private.

_Mostly _because young James Howlett was rarely alone these days as he worked in the admittedly impressive lab. Erik touched down and looped the end of his cape over his arm as he walked toward him. "Mr. Howlett," Erik said with a clearly put on smile. "I wonder if you might have a moment for a civil conversation."

James had sworn to himself when the wall cracked open, and then steadfastly went back to work, determined to ignore _Magneto _for as long as possible. "I'm not thoroughly convinced that any conversation that starts with someone removing my windows could be civil," James said. "But I suppose since you're already here .."

Erik did his best to keep his relaxed stance. "Yes, well, you'll forgive my entrance. I wanted to be sure I could speak to you one on one."

James looked up at him from the other side of his bench, barely slowing down as he kept working. "Must be something big if you want to talk to me this badly. I know you've got other, more conventional means of having a conversation."

"Yes, all of which would leave me without a reasonable way to see your reactions and leave you without the ability to know that I was telling you the truth."

James stopped what he was doing since he'd been pretty sure from the start that Magneto couldn't have cared less if James knew he was lying or not. "Alright," he said slowly.

Erik made his way over to the bench with a politically pleasant smile. "As I understand it, you had a rather rough mission recently." James didn't reply more than to nod his head in agreement, even if he knew there was no way Erik gave a damn about how rough he'd had things. "The soldiers that William sent were woefully uninformed of what they were walking into - both when facing your team and when they arrived in my prison."

"Can't say that I'll weep over them," James said, which was the right angle to take, since Erik seemed pleased to hear it from him.

"Good," Erik said warmly. "I was afraid you might have been under the influence of the Avengers for long enough that you might not recognize real justice when it presented itself."

James met Erik's gaze. "They tried to kill my team and they _did _kill the bait they'd used to get us there. They don't deserve pity."

Erik's smile widened slightly as he rested both hands on the bench, palms down. "James, my boy," Erik said warmly, though it sent a chill down James' neck. "The information I extracted from those soldiers will be on Ms. Munroe's desk tomorrow morning, but I could _not _wait for her to sit through it and come to her conclusions before I spoke with you about it."

"You know I'm not the team leader, right?" James asked, though he really didn't want Rachel to be forced to deal with whatever this was.

"Yes, I know," Erik said, smiling warmer. "But this isn't necessarily a team concern. This is about my grandson." As Erik expected, James had far to go in learning how to control his expressions, and it was clear in a heartbeat that James was alarmed to hear that any group might know something about Billy. "I know that you would go to extreme lengths to keep him safe, but he's not the only one I need to watch out for."

"If you think I'd let anything happen to Tommy either -"

"No, no, not Thomas. I know you'd do all you could to keep William's circle protected. And so will I," he said, holding James' gaze for emphasis. "Though I never would have seen it coming, for now, William has chosen you to stay at his side as his _companion_, and because of that, I would be remiss to ignore the tremendous target that you were _born _with."

"It never concerned you before," James said, not trusting for a second whatever angle this was. It also didn't miss his notice the wording Erik had obviously carefully chosen.

"That's simply not true, James," Erik replied in a rich tone, but his scent didn't exactly line up with a full truth.

"Still … new concerns and all … I'm fine."

"Yes, I'm sure. You're simply lucky that you have such protective friends. But … I should have been more clear years ago when I offered your father a spot on Genosha. _All _of you children would be far safer there away from these weapons programs that I can promise you - _will not back down_. For your own sake - and for my grandsons- see the sense in what I am offering."

"To be fair, we're not sure what they'd want any of us for," James pointed out. "But I do agree they are a threat."

"Ah. Well. I'm sure the Avengers are simply trying to shelter you from what those programs would like to do. It's all laid out, my boy. All they need is the mutant to fill the position." He produced a small tablet from under his cape and gingerly handed it to James - already keyed up with the scanned files that Erik had retrieved on what _exactly _several programs had in mind for him, personally. "At the rate you're all going, _this _is just a matter of time."

James glanced up at him, and on Erik's prompting, he started scrolling through the intel that he had - for the first time seeing the unfiltered version rather than that which Natasha had already okayed. And the details on what they had in mind was precise, down to a chart that they'd devised to guess with _stunning _accuracy how much James weighed now … and how much to dose him with to subdue him. From there, the details showed the kinds of controls and plans they had in mind for him. "What … what do you want?"

"To offer you safe haven."

James forced himself to look up from the tablet, the meaning behind what Erik was offering just starting to truly sink in. "You want us to go to Genosha to _stay_?"

"Yes," Erik said, sounding perfectly reasonable and relieved. "That is exactly what I'd like to see happen."

"_All_ of us."

"Of course."

"But not Kate."

Erik blinked for a moment. He had expected James to be more single focused - like his father. Had that been the case, using Billy or his family as the carrot should have been more than enough. "I was more concerned with your _family _rather than loose friends."

"Kate _is _my family," James said. "We grew up together. She and Nate have been head over heels for each other for _years_. She's as much a part of the Summers family as I am. If _she's _not safe too, it's not an option." When it looked like Erik didn't know how to respond, James hit him with something he really wasn't expecting. "Besides, she's one of Billy's best friends. Honestly both Kate _and _America. Neither of them would be welcome in Genosha and that would be _gutting _Billy's circle of friends."

"You're missing the big picture, young man. You are without your primary defenses. Your claws are _gone_-"

"I didn't tell you that," James said, but Erik didn't slow down, and he didn't even indicate that he'd heard James as he cut across him.

"-you _cannot expect to be of any use _in protecting William if you can't even protect yourself! I will make concessions to keep you safe for _his sake_, but when I do, you will learn _quickly _to do as I say."

Erik had started to levitate, but James remained calm. "I think I do just fine protecting myself," James said. "The comms and panic buttons the team uses - the ones integrated into the uniforms … that was _my _work. Same with my brother's weapons."

"Perhaps I'm not being as clear as I should be to one who is supposed to be a genius. I've _shown _you what they have in store for you, but you're too stubborn to see how that could be advantageous to _me_ as much as it would be to them. I'm _trying to _allow you to choose for yourself, but if they were to pick you up … instead of intervening, if I were to simply _wait _and allow them to proceed, it won't be _them _you'll have to serve. I will use that metal against you once it has replaced your bones. I know you're smart enough to know how this will eventually play out. But for now … I'll have to make do."

James was holding Erik's gaze when Erik held his hands out and then frowned to himself when nothing happened.

James however, tipped his chin up and put his hands in his front pockets as he watched Erik search out whatever metal he could find, but instead of challenging him in a manner that Erik was accustomed to, James took a different route entirely and gestured to the lab around them. "I'm an inventor. That _is _what I do, as I'm sure you already know," James said. "You didn't get a very good look at my lab the last time you stopped in. But since you want to discuss taking me out of here, feel free to take a look around. You _did _ask me where your labs were lacking on Genosha, and I regret to inform you that there isn't a lab in the _world _that will measure up to what I have here."

Erik was frowning deeper as he actively searched with his powers to try and isolate some metal - _any _metal - while he walked through the lab - at least until he saw the Iron Man armor James had laid out on a work bench and realized he couldn't _move _it. At all. In fact. The only bit of metal Erik found _in _the lab was a small piece of titanium that was part of a larger device on James' desk. Erik blinked to himself and then turned where he stood taking in the details he'd missed in his anger. On nearly every work bench were pieces of Avenger's uniforms and gadgets in various stages of completion. Falcon's wings were spread out on one bench with little more than an access panel to be closed - Stark's armor was the most involved with several circuit boards exposed, but Wasp's wings, belt, and helmet were complete and displayed on a model waiting to be used. And none of it contained anything that Erik could manipulate.

"I've made some improvements since you trashed the place," James said as he held Erik's gaze unblinking. "I do not want or need _anything _to do with adamantium in or around my body. Regardless of what anyone has planned for me."

But that had Erik turning on him, fuming far worse than James had seen before, practically growling when he spoke through gritted teeth. "You're giving the Avengers weapons to use _against me_?"

James stood his ground as Erik floated closer. "No. I'm giving them the means to be _safe_. The Avengers are my family, too. I'm pretty damn lucky to be able to say that Iron Man and Captain America are my uncles. They both taught me right from wrong alongside my dad, but don't for one second think that I'm turning my back on mutants."

"You are if you're arming Avengers to _fight me_," Erik said. "You should be standing with your own kind! Instead, you're choosing your own extinction."

"That's exactly the kind of talk I never thought I'd hear from a holocaust survivor," James said, though he'd have been lying through his teeth if he'd told anyone he wasn't scared of what Magneto might do in that moment. "You _could _unite _everyone_, but that isn't what you want. You just want to have the same power to use over others that was once used against you." The doors to the lab rattled, but James didn't look toward them. "Go ahead. You have a choice: you can pull the metal out of the locks in the door, or the structure of the building. I know I can't keep it away from you entirely. But if you do that, you will let them in. Or, you can say whatever it is you _really _want to say to me where no one will ever hear you. I won't tell anyone. Even Billy. So please, if you have something to say, or a specific threat to make - go ahead. I'll keep it between us."

Erik considered him as the pounding at the door continued. "The only thing keeping me from killing you now is my grandson," Erik said in an icy tone. "The moment he decides he's had enough of the _novelty_, I will personally make sure you regret every choice you've made in your soon to be _very _short life."

"But _I'm _the animal. For Billy's sake and yours, I hope _your _last days are happy and surrounded by family. I have no desire to see anything bad happen to you," James replied. "But in the event that things do end between Billy and I - when you come for me, you better bring back up, because I'll be ready for you and I won't make it easy. Even for an old man."

Erik sneered and turned to leave. "This isn't a game, young man. You cannot win simply by defending and hiding. The rules of engagement are not the same in life as they are a chess board."

"No, they're not," James agreed as Erik reached the windows. "But in this, _you're _the white on the board. There doesn't have to be a game at all if you don't start the attack." When Erik turned with a bemused look, James continued. "Believe it or not, I admire what you've done with Genosha. It was probably the right call at the time, but now? The professor's dream is the right call, and we all have agreed to fight for _that_."

For a moment, Erik held his gaze thoughtfully, then turned, once again removing the windows by the metal seals so he could exit the way he'd arrived. Though instead of replacing them as he'd done before, he slammed them back into place, shattering them and leaving James with a mess of broken glass and twisted window frames a moment before the doors unlocked.

Tony, Rachel, and America tumbled in ready to fight, but by then, James was already reaching for a broom to start sweeping glass. "I'm fine, thanks," James said. "Sorry for the mess. I guess I need windows again."

"And to move your equipment again," Tony said. "Is this going to be a recurring problem?"

James shrugged. "The way it's going? Probably."

"What did he say?" Rachel asked, watching James closely.

"Nothing special," James replied. "It was a direct approach with a buy line of 'move to Genosha now - or else'."

"I take it you said 'no'," Tony said, frowning at the hole in the wall.

"What on Earth would make you say that?" James said dryly before he sighed heavily. "Of course I said no. I didn't give him the why. Not his business unless things get more serious with Billy, and then it's going to be a matter of what Billy wants to tell him."

"Which right now probably means everything," Rachel said as she reached out to brush James' mind. She was wildly curious about what he was thinking and what had been said. But as had been the case lately, she was met with a brick wall that seemed sturdier now than it had been before, which meant that not only was he blocking her out naturally, he was _actively _blocking her, even after she'd made an incredibly iron-clad argument for him to _open up to her_. So she knew that whatever had been said had to have been bad. "James -"

"I'm fine, Rach," James said, one hand over his heart as he forced himself to relax. "Honestly."

"You're a terrible liar," America said.

"Thanks for that. Love you too, Chavez," James replied.

"Just keeping you in check," America replied with a smirk, though she was looking around the room, too.

"Did he take anything?" Tony asked when it seemed most of the room was in order.

"He's not a thief," James said. "But no. If he couldn't pick it up and carry it without having to hold it, he wouldn't likely be interested. And he couldn't pick up much here." James thought about it for a moment, and pointedly looked toward the tablet Magneto had left behind. "He _gave _me something actually."

"And?"

"He's a little in his feelings because I'm giving you guys non-metallic components. Accused me of making weapons when clearly - that's not the case yet. But if I'm going to be accused of it ..."

"I _told you_ I could finish it in my lab," Tony said, but James shook his head.

"My idea, my project - all the materials and components were here. I didn't have a reason to think he'd be that touchy about _my _projects in _my _lab, and even if I thought he might, it's my lab, not his," James said. "It's fine, he is just under the delusion that … well, I'm not sure what. There was a lot of delusion going on. I'm not going to compartmentalize it."

Tony took a moment to stop James from what he was doing, then pulled the kid over into a tight hug that he didn't even consider letting up on until James returned the hug properly. "Hey. We're all here for you."

"I know. Love you too."

Tony rested his hand on the side of James' neck to make sure the kid focused on him. "You gonna tell me what went down?"

"He was just making sure I knew how much he wants to keep the twins safe."

"That's … a pretty big thing considering the last mission you ran."

"It's fine. We've got an understanding," James said, even if he couldn't force a smile.

Tony held his breath then nodded to himself. He could _see _he wasn't going to get it out of James when James was so clearly bending over backward to protect those around him. "Alright." He squeezed James' shoulder as he looked around again. "I'll get this taken care of. Probably a good time to take a breather."

"Are you sure?" James asked, looking around them. "Kinda feel like I need to finish up a few more of these sooner than later."

"I'll move them to my lab. I'll help you finish them." Tony gestured to Rachel. "Go on. It's fine. Pretty sure your sister wants to corner you for twenty questions, so if you don't _choose _to go, I'll have no choice but to let your dad know you're delirious and make sure Rachel drives you two home."

"Yikes, got it. See you tomorrow," James agreed as Rachel rolled her eyes, though she _did _look relieved to pull James along with her.

"Just go straight to my lab in the morning." Tony smiled as he watched them go, but America didn't leave, instead half-nudging the broken glass that was shattered across the floor.

"Why you pushing them out so fast?" America asked as Tony frowned, glaring around the room.

"No reason," Tony said before he headed for a cabinet in the far corner of the lab. It was one that James rarely used, and in fact, Tony had chosen it specifically for that reason. Inside, behind a few manuals and books, there was a small device that opened up to spit out a flash drive. Tony took it out and put a new flash drive in before he closed it up and put the books back in place. He started toward his lab with America on his heels. He was halfway there when he took out his cell phone and dialed Scott up. "Hey. Kids are coming home early. We had a Magneto issue here today. If you have a minute, I've got he video surveillance of what happened." He turned to America. "Don't suppose I could bribe you into getting Cyclops here, could I?"

"Usually I'd ask for payment up front," America said. "So you better be good for it."

"Look who you're talkin' to," Tony said, frowning at her as if she'd lost her mind. "I'll just give him a warning -"

"Too slow," America replied before she kicked a star-shaped hole into reality to usher Scott to them.

Tony held up the flash drive. "Hi, honey. I got surveillance on the _Magneto attack _that just happened. We _both _need to know what went down before we get actual time with that kid again."

Scott's eyes flashed. "Magneto?" he repeated, taking in the shattered glass and the otherwise normal state of the lab with new understanding.

"Yep, and the kid isn't talking - shocking no one." Tony waved Scott over. "This time though, I had surveillance wired to record if the windows were tampered with. They were alone, so no one to give us a run down like last time."

"Then it's a good thing you wired it," Scott said, nodding along.

"Let's see it," America broke in impatiently. "You two can bask in each other's overprotectiveness later. I wanna know how many bones to break."

Tony didn't argue it as he pulled up the file and let it play, relieved that nothing had happened to the tech or the recording device in the process. And it picked up from the moment the seals on the window were tampered with.

By the time the footage had played out, Scott's jaw was locked, and America had a slight glow to her eyes - her powers drew from emotion, and she was angry enough that it was spilling over. "I'll deal with this," Scott said at last, through his teeth.

"What are you thinking?"

"I've already talked to my brother about coming back to Genosha," Scott said. "Some of the old X-Men and I have been quietly keeping tabs on Magneto."

"What can I do to help?" Tony asked. "Tell me what you need."

"I need non-metallic weapons," Scott said without hesitating.

"That's been the kid's focus for a long time now."

"I know, but I'm asking you. I don't want something he's seen in this lab; I don't want him to connect it back to James if he sees it," Scott clarified.

"Yeah, I figured as much - just wanted to point out we've got plenty to work with. He's been working up new materials. I had _hoped _it was just an overabundance of caution. Didn't realize he was up to verbal _sparring_."

"I'd hoped things hadn't gotten this bad with Magneto," Scott admitted. "He and the professor always tried to work things out. For the sake of that memory, I'd _hoped _he'd get a grip."

Tony looked thoughtful for a long moment. "Any thoughts on how to deal with the kid? I already told him I'm moving his projects - _and him_ \- to my lab."

"I'll tell his boyfriend," America said simply, one eyebrow raised. "If you think a horrified, worried Billy won't keep James distracted while you two deal with the problem…"

"Which part would he be more horrified at?" Tony asked. "The part where grumpy grandpa is threatening the boyfriend or the part where the boyfriend is telling him to bring it?"

"Yes." America leaned against the wall with one foot kicked up. "What you boys fail to understand here is that this isn't the first time one of Billy's boyfriends has been threatened. In fact according to Tommy, every ex that did him dirty _mysteriously _vanished. Even the ones that didn't do him dirty. Put the clues together, _chicos_. It's not an empty threat. And Billy knows it; he just doesn't want to believe it without definitive proof." She gestured to the computer. "Which is what you have right there."

"We have proof of _threats_," Tony said. "As much as I hate defending Magneto in the realm of murder, we don't really know how to prove what happened to the exes." He turned back to Scott. "The older James gets, the more he's sounding like his parents when it comes to threats. But if you think you can open Billy's eyes ..."

"I think if we can show him the threats, he'll be smart enough to put two and two together," Scott said. "He's Vision's son."

Tony gestured openly. "Alright then. Miss America - you know Billy best."

"Great." America clapped her hands together, rubbed them, and then kicked another star-shaped hole in reality, yanking Billy and Kate out of their video game to join the three of them in James' lab.

"Oh, was there another burrito-ing?" Kate asked, wrinkling her nose as soon as she saw where they were.

"Hard to do when there was no metal within reasonable reach," Tony said. He waved both teenagers over. "Come on kids, we've got a little movie for you." As they made their way over, both of them looking a little confused, Tony set it up again then stepped back with his arms crossed over his chest.

Billy had one hand over his mouth, but Kate, to everyone's surprise, looked _delighted_. "Oh, look at him giving it to Grandpa Evil," she said. "I'm so proud." She nudged Billy. "C'mon. It's always fun to watch him work, isn't it?"

Billy shook his head, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the screen. "He didn't tell me it was this… blatant."

"Which one?" Tony asked. "Because James _wouldn't. _He'd try to cope on his own."

"He was trying to protect _you_," America said in an exasperated sigh. "He knows you love your family - even Magneto. He doesn't want to step on that."

"Yeah, but I love _him_ too," Billy said, finally moving from shocked to angry as he gestured toward the screen. "And I don't want him dead - or staying with me so he doesn't get _murdered_."

"Oh, no worries there," Kate snorted. "You saw him."

"If he was intimidated, he'd have called it by now," Tony said. "Sounded to me like he's leaving it to you and prepared to face off if _you _tap out.." He pointed at the screen. "He's not afraid that he's going to get killed. I've seen that look enough. He's confident. Don't know if it's warranted or not, but he's confident."

Billy was floating slightly off the floor without meaning to before he turned to face Scott. "I need to check something," he said, his eyes literally alight. "But… you should know my grandfather wanted me to spy on you. And when I get back, let me tell you what he told me."

"If I'm not here when you get back, _call_," Scott said, knowing full well that James hadn't told Billy where they were actually living - still falling back on the safe house as 'home'.

"Fine," Billy said, then disappeared with a muttered, _Backtomyroom._ He had every intention of trying out a new spell he'd learned. He'd initially learned it so he could search for missing teammates. But now, he _needed _to use it to search for his exes. If they were even alive.

* * *

The lab was fixed up quickly enough, and Tony once again put his security system into place without James knowing - even going so far as to reinforce it better and add more, smaller cameras just so he had _every _angle now that he knew they worked.

The equipment was all moved back in, and several of them were humming along nicely again, but James wasn't giving them his attention at all. Not when he had so much _coursework _to catch up on. It was a point that Tony had brought up after the incident with Magneto - that he'd been ignoring the work he had to finish so he could secure the three masters degrees that Tony had _strongly _suggested he acquire ahead of the timeline they'd originally agreed to.

But between the time he was giving to the Avengers, the time he was investing in the X-Men, and the work he was doing for Stark Industries … he hadn't exactly fallen _behind_ … but he wasn't keeping the pace he'd set for himself _before _he'd joined the teams. And Tony had used the incident with Magneto to remind him that he had a course set out ahead of him that Tony was relying on him to complete.

And that started with finishing his Masters in physics, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. It wasn't something that was _needed _immediately, but Tony had suggested that it would be a point to smooth things over when he was old enough to step in as more than just his lab assistant if he blew past Tony's _own _education record. It didn't help that Reed Richards was quietly suggesting he turn those into doctorates and add in some extra degrees in physics ASAP, either.

So, instead of working on some of the projects he'd been tinkering on - or solving some of the problems he was anticipating on the horizon, James was focusing on getting some serious study time in. Not that Tony was complaining one bit. In fact, he was delighted to see James taking the time to _work._ He'd been working on studying all day and the evidence was piled up around him, too … stacks of books, a couple of open laptops with reference materials showing on screen, several notebooks full of trigonometry and calculus - and one with doodles- alongside a few empty coffee cups and some crumpled up take-out evidence.

He was, in fact, waiting for dinner to show - since he'd told his dad he was wrapped up in a paper that Reed Richards had written about quantum mechanics that he simply couldn't stop partway through. Not long enough to go home, anyhow. It required _focus_ and driving home, sleeping on it and driving back the next morning would be enough to make him have to restart it. A bite of pizza though … that would be enough to make sure he didn't get a migraine.

So when Billy appeared in the lab with a spell, James broke into a crooked smile when he saw him, though he barely broke from reading to flirt. "What great timing you have, little prince. Is this payback for distracting you from your test at midterms? Should I be prepared to be a disappointment to Tony?"

But Billy looked stressed as he made his way over to where James was studying. "You know, I don't even know how to answer that," he said as James finally caught wind of how _anxious _Billy smelled.

"What's wrong?" James asked as he put the book in front of him to the side.

"Oh … you know just …." Billy ran his hands through his hair as James watched, almost wide-eyed. He'd never _seen _him like this. Or anywhere close to it. "There's no way to do this easy …".

"You're breaking up with me," James said in a shocked but totally flat tone.

"What? _No!" _Billy said, looking almost as shocked as James had been. "No, that's …" He let out a sigh and ran his hands through his hair again."So … I looked into it and it turns out that my grandfather's been killing all my exes, and it's kinda freaking me out." James got to his feet and made his way over to try and pull Billy into a hug, but he shrugged his shoulders up - he wasn't done yet.

"Hey …"

"I know for a _fact _that he's been threatening _you_, too - _and you're just letting him do it_," Billy said, which was more than enough to get James to stop - clearly red-handed. "So can you please, _please_ \- _please be honest with me _about what's going on? Don't try to cushion it. Don't … lessen it because I _just found out _that he's been murdering guys I've dated - _and I am freaking out_. I _need _you to not hide things from me. _Especially _this."

"Okay," James said, his shoulders relaxed as he gestured to the couch nearby. "You deserve that anyhow." He took a seat and waited for Billy to sit down. He took the far end of the couch, and though both of them were sitting sideways and facing each other, Billy's foot on the floor was jiggling, a detail that held James' attention for a few beats too long. "I'm sorry. I was just trying not to … I know how important my family is to me, and I didn't want anything to get between you and your family. It's probably a shit excuse, but it's the truth."

Billy scrubbed his hands over his face. "Why didn't you _tell me_, though? Don't you think that it should be my decision - that I should _know _what he's doing? What he's _said _to you?"

"Alright, yeah," James agreed quietly. "But I'm _tired _of everyone feeling like they need to protect me." he half heartedly gestured to the mountains of books on the bench. "I let them anyhow, but it's wearing."

"Hey, you're talking to _me_, here. Remember how my mom literally sent us off an island so we wouldn't be stiflingly _protected_?" Billy shook his head, his gaze drifting to the stack of books. "It's just… I get that you're trying to protect me too, but it feels lopsided when I don't _know _what the score is."

James considered him for a long moment. "Fair."

Billy's shoulders relaxed only slightly, though he finally stopped jiggling his foot. "So," he said quietly, "I guess… so that's a thing. The, um, the dead exes. That you should know about."

"I'm sorry you can't rebound backwards," James teased with a little smirk.

Billy was surprised into a quiet smile and shook his head. "Like I'd want to."

James smiled a little wider in response. "Never know …. Especially since I can only tell you things that won't blow _other _people's secrets up. Like … that ... " he tipped his head toward the books again, but didn't turn away. "I am trying to finish my masters. Three of them … so Tony has an easier time when he gets ready to step down." He let his shoulders drop. "It's not going to happen for a while, but he's prepping me to take over the company for him when he retires to _just _inventing. But _no one_ outside of the family knows that yet."

"Oh. Wow." Billy blinked a few times, not at all expecting that - though he almost couldn't help but think that it explained a few things his grandfather had been questioning about James' place with Stark.

He didn't think he'd let his grandfather in on that secret, though. All things considered.

"And aside from helping to raise me, that's why Tony's so territorial, and _all _of why I'm so wrapped up in studying so hard. If you want secrets ... I have one more thing that I _can _tell you. I didn't tell my siblings this, either," James said, looking a little more anxious. "So ...you know how I said I've been talking to Rabbi Cohen?" Billy nodded and James continued. "I asked him to be my counselor, just so I can get a viewpoint that _isn't _superhero influenced on my crap."

Billy blinked in surprise but then, as he thought it over, slowly nodded. "Okay," he said. "I think I get that. I mean, Mom sent me to a different continent for a new viewpoint, so…." He shrugged. "I didn't drive you to therapy, though, right?"

"No," James said, shaking his head. "Had nothing to do with you. At all."

"Had to check."

"You really don't need to worry about that. When I get to a point I can tell you about it without freaking myself out, I will. But part of it was that I needed _whoever _I talked to _not _to know where I came from. So ..what else am I neglecting to disclose that I _can _disclose? There _is _more I want to tell you, but I can't yet. Not without clearance from other people."

"Um, I think the death threats and therapy, and Stark Industries plans are pretty big ones?"

"Yeah, but I figured since you knew the death threats, that part wasn't worth repeating," James said. "If you need me to say it, your grandfather really doesn't like me." He looked thoughtful a he tried to shift the mood in the room. "But … if he went after all your exes, maybe it's not that personal."

Billy shifted guiltily. "Ah… it kind of is with you. He might have… sort of… _specifically _told me to avoid you when we first got here."

"I know, I was trying to get a smile or something. It's _always _personal. But he's not scaring me off, so that has to count for _something_, right? Even if it's tiny."

"Not that tiny," Billy said, breaking into a genuine smile.

"Little bit tiny," James countered as the door to the lab opened and Tony came in with a pizza in hand, and more than ready to pick.

"I thought you were studying, not _studying,_" Tony said, before tipping his chin up toward Billy. "Hey, kiddo. You're staying for a little while aren't you?"

"Hey, you're hogging my boyfriend. And there's pizza. So… yeah. I'm sticking around," Billy said.

"You wanna stick around, you can - hell, if you can keep from distracting him too much from finishing his degrees-"

"That you and Reed keep adding to," James cut in.

"We are adding to them because you're so _good _at the things we set in front of you," Tony said, giving James a significant look, which got James to smirk to himself at how not-sneaky Tony was.

"I just told Billy what your big plan for me is," James said. "So … you don't have to worry too much about interrupting yourself talking about the evil plans with MIT."

Tony stopped, looked toward the two of them and grinned brightly. "Not a bad deal, right? He's doing the work as easily as if it was breathing. You should _see _what he's been coming up with for space travel … this place is going to be something else when the time comes."

"And I'll get to tease him about _him _being the one locked up in a tower…" Billy said, grinning.

"Billy boy, that has been the case since he started getting his tutoring up here," Tony said. "So come on - grab a slice or two and you can help me figure out how to tell his dad we're moving things up - publicly anyhow."

"You can just _not _do that so you don't kill him," James suggested. "There's no reason to announce something that won't happen for a while anyhow." But Tony was already shaking his head.

"Yeah, I mean, didn't he _just _recover from the shock of having a Creed dropped on his kids?" Billy pointed out - still not happy about how that had turned out, even if he couldn't _really _blame either James or Tyler for it. Especially after the Avengers and X-Men started telling tales about James' mother's out of the box thinking and on the fly problem solving. That impromptu mid-battle kiss had been James' equivalent of a knee-jerk reaction. Apparently.

Tony shook his head again, more impatiently this time. "Hey. You just said it. We just watched as a Creed got dropped on our kids - by a weapons program. Those idiots think they can snipe _my kid?_ Nope."

"He's just like this," James said quietly to Billy. "He thinks making a public spectacle since I lost the mask will help cushion things."

"At the risk of starting something… that… kind of sounds like my grandfather's logic," Billy said, already wincing as he said it.

"Hurtful," Tony said, just before he took a bite of pizza. "But I'm not doing it in a 'bow down' angle - no offense. It's more of a 'don't touch the kid. He's got connections. And besides, Jan's been drawing up your wardrobe for the announcement. Keeps waffling between something casual and a suit.'"

"Your grandfathers are _touched_," James said - just to get Tony to react - and he did, coughing hard and nearly falling off his chair. "Both of them."

Billy grinned brilliantly as he turned toward Tony. "He has a point, Grandpa," he said, complete with fluttering eyelashes just to mess with Tony. He'd never called him that before.

It took Tony a moment to recover, and when he finally did, he was laughing. "Alright, but I'm _keeping you_ if that's the way you want to play it." He snapped his fingers. "And I want to see Wanda's face when you tell her that."

"Before or after I tell my dad you're embracing our family with open arms?" Billy shot back.

"Yes," Tony said, nodding, and smiling wide enough his eyes were sparkling. "Whatever you want, kiddo."

"I think he's good with _us_," James said quietly, just for Billy to hear. "Your dad will probably be glad to hear it."

Billy nodded. "He likes having family. I know he wishes Grandfather embraced him and Alex a little more. Might as well have a better bond on this side."

"Careful, if you keep talking about him, he'll start building you a jet or something." James pulled the pizza box over just as Tony started _gushing _to Billy now that he _could_.

Nothing was too in depth, but he was more than happy to dive in to bragging about what he had in mind for James' schooling from this point _anyhow_. Especially since that was one area that James really hadn't talked about too much with Billy. Not beyond vague mentions of what had been done already.

"Those are just the plans he and Richards have suggested," James clarified- not wanting to let Billy think that he was leaving anything out _so soon _after their earlier discussion. "I'm not convinced the doctorate isn't overkill."

"Overkill? In our family? I'm shocked to find that there's gambling in this establishment," Billy said dryly.

"See? No such thing," Tony said. "Then your sweetheart can have a _doctor_."

"I can almost guarantee you I'll make playing doctor jokes every thirty seconds," Billy said, grinning widely.

James burst out laughing at that, then leaned over to steal a kiss. "Not that kind of doctor."

"So?"

"Alright, I can take a cue," Tony said, grabbing one last slice then left th two of them - cackling as he went.

James waited or him to leave before he leaned in to steal a long kiss with Billy. "Are we okay then?" James asked. "I don't want to screw this up over something stupid."

Billy nodded. "Yeah. Just… no more secrets, okay?"

"As soon as I can tell you anything else, I will," James promised. "Until then, I'll just be here … in my tower… I _guess _working toward a doctorate or three ..."

"At least I know where to find you," Billy pointed out and then kissed James as they settled in to finish dinner.


	55. The Harbinger Approaches

**Special thanks to Practically An Avenger, and thanks for the marathon reviews from X-MenoverAvengers. Hope you enjoy this one. here. Have a note first. **

**Note: This chapter begins a crossover event which includes characters and events from our 714 Marvel Universe, particularly Volume 42, "Horsemen." If you don't want to be spoiled for what's happening in that universe, we suggest you skip over there and catch up before coming back here. If you don't mind spoilers, well, don't say we didn't warn you. You can still read this on its own; we will provide context. But the full experience encompasses both stories.**

**Chapter 55: The Harbinger Approaches**

_Meanwhile, in the 714 Marvel Universe _

It was shortly after Apocalypse had gone from this particular universe, and Billy was still getting used to what was and was not in his reality - and definitely didn't have a handle on _not _interfering.

Apocalypse had been sure to show Billy the worst outcomes, the kinds of places and times that were sure to leave emotional scars. And one of them was this universe where Graydon Creed had killed so many X-Men and left lasting damage on others.

And, well, Billy might not have known where he was all the time, but he did know _that _universe wasn't the same as the one where he belonged. But he also knew that he could play a little interference, the way he had with Lily's universe when he had saved her from Sabretooth. He didn't think he _could _stay out of interfering anymore, not after what Apocalypse had done, but at least if he kept his interference to universes that he couldn't screw up, if he looked ahead and made sure it would be the right thing…

Then again, he still wasn't one hundred percent on reality even within a set universe. So, he'd promised Teddy he wouldn't go galavanting without backup. Which meant...

"Hey, Logan, I need to borrow you."

"What for?" Logan asked without looking up from his newspaper.

"I…" Billy shook his head. "I need to stop things from spiralling out of control for our friends. And yeah, this time I know it's not our universe. And I know I'm still figuring out how to help. But… but it's bad there."

Logan dropped the newspaper just enough that he could look up at Billy properly. "Is this one I can go like this or do I need my party dress?"

"Well, you're dead there, so you really shouldn't go into the fight. Especially since it's against Magneto? So… you're fine."

"If I'm not supposed to go into the fight, the hell do you want me for?"

"To make sure everyone comes _back _from the fight," Billy said, his eyes wide. "Because right now, it's a suicide mission."

Logan took one last sip from his coffee and set the mug down. "Let's get on with it," he said as he got to his feet. "You're sure you don't want me goin' to fight?"

"Very sure," Billy said as he started to float a bit in preparation for the jump.

Logan made his way over to him and looked up at Billy with a little frown. "What if I wanna? You gonna stop me?"

Billy gave him a dry look. "You're dead in that universe, Logan. And it took a _long _time to get past that."

"So I got the element of surprise. Sweet."

"Logan, it's Scott that's going in," Billy said, more seriously this time. "And with no guarantee of coming out again. So I really need your help stopping _him_, not Magneto. My grandfather's going to die in that universe no matter what we do; he's writing his own end. This is about Scott."

Logan let out a breath at that. "You really suck at lettin' people know what's up, you know that, right?"

"I'm still a work in progress, sanity-wise," Billy pointed out.

"Yeah, you're a work alright," Logan muttered.

"This Scott was there when you, K, Jubilee, Charles, Jean, _and_ Kurt all died within a few weeks of each other. So… you can imagine how he's doing."

Logan let out a low whistle at that. "How the hell'd that happen?"

"Creed and his son. Nasty combo." Billy made a face. "They weren't even _trying _to work together."

"Musta been rotten there," Logan said. "Here, they couldn't ever figure out which way is up on their own - and together … well. Couple of raged-out crazies that couldn't get past their own egos."

"Yeah, well… it's been a while, and now that Scott's more or less raised James to a point he and the other kids are at school and their own peop- you know what, it might be easier to just take you there? Because there's a lot going on."

"Waitin' on you, princess."

Billy smirked at that. "That's right I am," he said before he simply snapped his fingers, and they both reappeared in a house in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was in a popular area, but it still felt quiet, and inside, Scott was the only one there at the moment. The other three major scents - Rachel, Nate, and James - were old.

Scott was testing and re-testing a nonmetallic weapon that Tony had designed so that he could smuggle it into Magneto's palace without raising any alarms while he poured over some intel, clearly lost in thought. Logan watched for a long moment as Scott worked, then glanced over at Billy before he silently made his way over to get a better look at Scott's layout of maps and plans spread out on the table. He stood a few paces behind him and simply looked it over, figuring out what it was that Scott had in mind. It looked like Scott was going for isolation and surprise in Magneto's own palace, and when Logan realized exactly what it _looked _like he was up to, he just couldn't stop himself. "Now _that _is a shit plan, Scooter," Logan rumbled out. "Probably the dumbest damn thing you've ever cobbed together."

For just a second, Scott froze, and then, he looked over his shoulder at Logan with an expression of open _disbelief_. "What the hell…" He was already scanning Logan with cybernetic eyes, but the scans showed _adamantium_, which wouldn't have shown up for a shapeshifter. But that wasn't actually possible...

"You're the one that's stoppin' at Plan 743 instead of whatever the hell you'd come up with to keep goin."

Scott blinked once and then got to his feet _fast_, with a long blade in his hand extended in Logan's direction. "Get the hell out of my house."

Logan looked shocked for a split second as he took in the treble scars across Scott's face, but he recovered quickly. With a chuff, he turned his back, headed to the refrigerator, and took a beer out of the back, then cracked it open and leaned against the fridge. "Make me." He couldn't quite come up with anything wittier when he was trying to figure out what the hell had _happened._

"What is this, some telepathic trick?" Scott said, his eyes narrowed. That was the only explanation he could come up with when all of his scans showed that this was _Logan_.

"Yeah, cause _that's_ my strong point," Logan said, shaking his head. He tried to refrain, but he ended up gesturing to Scott's face all the same. "The hell happened? Can't think of anything you coulda done to get me that ticked off. Not narrow enough for anyone else I know."

"Long story," Scott said, waving in irritation.

Logan narrowed his eyes and gestured to Scott's maps. "We got time. Especially if this is the best you can do." Logan paused, then offered Scott the beer in his hand. "You prolly need this more than I do right now."

Scott sighed as he took it. "I'm not sure what to tell you, since I'm not sure where you came from."

"Other-dimensional visitors," Billy put in, waving a hand. "Hi."

Scott finally seemed to take Billy in, and that started a whole new round of suspicion. "_Billy_?"

Billy grinned. "Not yours, but close. Hi, by the way. Again."

"Hello," Scott said shortly, still openly scanning Billy. "And what are _you _doing here?"

"Oh, I hop dimensions," Billy said, shrugging. "Yours can't do that. I mean, he can, but not… not the way I do it." He rubbed a hand through his hair; he used to be more suave and assured in his powers before Apocalypse messed with him. "I'm sort of like an interdimensional ambulance driver, I guess. Trying to fix what I can in universes where interfering won't make things even worse than they already are."

"He only comes out to play when someone's gonna do something irretrievably stupid," Logan said before he pointed to the table and Scott's plans. "Looks like you hit the jackpot."

Scott watched both of them and then decided against arguing his plan. He didn't want to get into it with Logan when he hadn't seen him in so long. Instead, he answered Logan's question. "I won't go into the details," he said, gesturing to himself. "But just know it was a choice between hurting me or losing one of the kids. We both agreed this was better."

"Those were the only choices?" Logan asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah," Scott said in a breath. "It was a bad situation. We were removed from the guy who had James, so…"

"Cowardly little-"

"Yeah," Scott agreed. He paused, the words at the back of his throat pushing forward. "You should know I never blamed you." He'd been wanting to tell Logan that for years, had been carrying that around the whole time. Saying it out loud … it made his path forward that much clearer.

"Wasn't me, Slim," Logan said.

That didn't really matter to Scott. He'd never be able to tell the Logan that had been in his world anything close to that. He never got the chance. This was the closest thing he had. For a long moment, it looked like Scott couldn't decide what expression he wanted to have before he crossed to Logan in a few long steps and simply _hugged _him. Tightly.

Logan couldn't really do anything but blink a few times before he made a point to return the gesture. "Hey, come on, Scotty."

"Shut up and take the hug, Logan. You've been dead a long time."

"Must have been," he said, though he didn't let go of Scott until Scott was ready, thinking back to when he'd found Scott tucked away in a gingerbread-like cottage in Alaska. But this was a much more intense reaction, and Logan wasn't going to wreck it. Not when it was clear Scott needed this so badly.

When Scott did finally take a step back, he shook his head and gestured for Logan to take a seat with him. "I don't know what you know, but Magneto is out of control. Kitty and I have been working up a plan so I can slip into his inner circle. Bobby's causing trouble so he doesn't get suspicious. But he's jailing anyone who disagrees with him and threatening to kill them outright if they're not mutants. And that's just the problems he's causing for the general population, let alone my family." He paused. "_Our _family."

"So … situation normal," Logan muttered under his breath as he looked Scott's plans over a little closer.

"He offered me a place at his side after it happened. And we never re-formed the X-Men, so he'd _believe _it from me if I showed an interest in joining him there on that island. As far as he knows, I'm just a tired, de-powered has-been."

"So … you're gonna go in there and get yourself killed," Logan said, shaking his head. "Don't like it."

"Give me some credit," Scott said, rolling his eyes. "This is the best shot we have. I'm not _trying _to get killed, but no matter how this works out, he'll be dead too." He shook his head. "We can't wait much longer. He's already talking about getting rid of all the humans, and one of these days, he's going to hit the kids too. He's made threats on James when no one is around to hear it. He's just waiting for the excuse to kill him - or worse, he's promised to wait until a weapons group finds him and then use their metal to _control _James." Scott paused to let that sink in, not at all surprised to see Logan's eyes narrow and hands flex just slightly, like they always did when he was angry. "And it's not just our family. The kids have a human friend on their team, and Erik does _not _like it. Especially because Nate's dating her, and she's part of Billy and Tommy's circle of friends."

For a long time, Logan simply digested the threats Scott had laid out. He could understand it; he could. Anyone breathing down their kids' necks like that, anyone making _those _kinds of threats on James, couldn't be allowed the air to keep up those threats. But the _method_… "I didn't think there was a universe where you'd try to copy one of my mistakes," Logan said. "But here we are."

"It's not a mistake. It's the best shot we have," Scott insisted.

"Except you're missin' the part where you make sure to walk out the other end breathin'."

"It's fine, Logan."

"No it's not." Logan tapped on the paper. "Walk me through it. Maybe I can help."

"You _can't _come," Scott said, sharper this time, and almost automatically.

"I wasn't plannin' on it, but now I wanna," Logan said, turning his way.

"No," Scott said heatedly. "I'm _not _going to let you die again. And you will."

"Then come up with a better plan or I'm goin' with you."

"God, I forgot how much I hate when you do that," Scott said, pinching the bridge of his nose and leaving his hand there, kneading his forehead along the line of his scars.

"Then it won't be a problem if we go together. I'll keep remindin' you," Logan was smirking crookedly at him, especially since Billy was looking like he wasn't sure what exactly Logan was up to - and was wondering if he'd made a mistake bringing in Logan. He'd send him back if he had to keep an adamantium skeleton away from Erik, but…

Scott shook his head and tried a different tactic with Logan. "Do you have a K in your universe?"

"I do," Logan said, nodding.

"What about James?"

"Among others, yeah."

Scott visibly paused when he heard "others" but then shook his head to himself. "You need to go back to them."

"Sure," Logan said. "When I know you're gonna come out of this scrap alive."

"Hey, I kept my word. I raised three kids who want to be heroes, and I-"

"How old are they?" Logan asked.

"High school, mostly. Rachel's out of school. James is going into graduate work, but he'd be in high school otherwise."

"Then you can't take a chance like that," Logan said. "You gotta stick around to walk Rachel down the aisle and get that _stupid _look on your face when you hold a baby."

Scott gave him a dry look at that. "That's not the point."

Logan turned toward Billy and gestured toward Scott. "Billy, you wanna go get K for me? She's better with words _and _dealin' with this one."

"You're doing fine," Billy said, then paused, the stars in his eyes swirling brighter. "I… think. It's hard to tell when I don't speak… whatever language you two speak when you do this."

"English," both of them said at once.

"Case in point," Billy said, gesturing between them.

Both Scott and Logan looked like they couldn't believe what they were hearing from Billy, but Logan was faster to get back on track. After all, he had the advantage of coming into the situation knowing Billy was concerned for Scott, _and _he wasn't distracted seeing anyone coming back from the dead. "Come on, Scotty," Logan said in a low rumble. "What's it gonna hurt to walk me through it?"

Scott let out a long breath and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "Fine," he said. "Only because it's you."

Logan frowned a little at that, unused to _Scott _giving him that kind of deference, but joined Scott as he went over the plans, which were pretty sparse - even considering his usual ideas. "Whatcha got for defensive weapons?"

"Not much Magneto won't know about."

Logan gestured to the knife on the table. "Workin' with ceramics … that's a start. What about your electronics?"

"Kitty's handling that. She's our eyes inside."

Logan paused visibly, then shook his head at that. "No. I mean what you're bringin' in with you."

"Outside of these?" Scott gestured to his eyes. "I'm not."

"Why not?" Logan said.

"Because Tony Stark upgraded these. I can scan for threats; I'll know if any of his bodyguards are around, and I'll be able to disable his security, even the stuff he doesn't know I can spot. Don't need much else."

"_Exactly. _He doesn't know that," Logan argued. "You need to take it from his point of view. If you're comin' in like you're seeking sanctuary, you'd have something on you. Gonna stink of a set up if you don't. Walk in there with nothin' metal and he'll know before you get close enough to say hello."

"I didn't say I was going in with nothing metal," Scott said. "I've got Jean's locket, and I'm bringing a few other things in my bag."

"Very sentimental - and _very _stupid," Logan said. "But if you're hard up, I can give you a little metal to bring along."

"You're _not_ coming," Scott said again.

"Sure I'm not," Logan said, obviously blowing him off. "You need a weapon with you. Not a locket."

"I'm bringing that knife-"

"No. You need a weapon _he can find on you_ _first_," Logan said. "You're a defenseless, depowered ex-wrecking ball. You're not used to walkin' around without somethin' to cover your back. Tell me I'm wrong. It'll be a lie, but go ahead. Not like I'll _know _you're lyin'."

Scott let out a frustrated sigh, but he had to admit that Logan was right. The truth of the matter was that he was having a hard time planning for this, because he'd _started _with the plan to take Magneto on and take him down _with _him, get out of his kids' way and pave the way for them at the same time. But once he'd promised to stick around for James, he was having a hard time now not only with reconciling this mission with everything he'd believed as an X-Man but with honestly thinking straight when he was still furious over Magneto's threats against James. He was out of practice from the _training _he used to have that would let him lose his temper and still win in a fight, and so he had to plan this attack down to the letter. Which he couldn't do when even Billy's intel on Magneto was incomplete; the man didn't trust _anyone. _It was a bad situation all around, and yet he was still going in, because he didn't feel right handing it off to anyone else, either.

"I've got a gun I keep for emergencies - the kids know how to shoot too," Scott said at last.

"Course they do," Logan said. "Because you'd make sure _they _were prepared."

"For anything," Scott said. "But I don't want them to have to deal with Magneto."

"Who would?" Logan tapped his thumb on the table a few times, grimly and silently disagreeing with the vagueness of the plan so far. "So no extraction plan if it goes south on you … how's that gonna work out? Worst case scenario."

"I've got an extraction plan," Scott said, then hesitated. "As long as he gets there in time. Not sure how far out he is."

"Who?"

"Corsair."

"Now I _know _you got a death wish." Logan had shifted to cross his arms over his chest. "Come on, Scott. If you don't walk out of this lookin' like an action hero with explosions goin' on behind you as you _strut out_, those kids'll be there in a heartbeat."

"I'm not moving until I know I can make it a fatal blow," Scott said.

"Strategy like that, you might as well wait til' he dies of natural causes."

Scott rolled his eyes. "Give me some credit here. I'm not an idiot, even if I haven't been an X-Man for a long time."

"Scott, you've _always _been an X-Man from the day you put the badge on, even when you say you're not. It's part of you."

"I don't do that anymore," Scott said flatly, leaning forward, resting his chin on one hand, the end of his finger tapping the end of the longest of his three scars without realizing it.

Logan shook his head, though he didn't miss the motion and his gaze flitted to the end of the scars. "I didn't say you had to _do _it. I said it's part of you. It's not somethin' you just shrug off. Unless you gave up on Charlie's dream."

"Never."

"Then you're _still _an X-Man."

Scott shrugged, not wanting to argue it when there were other matters at hand. "Kitty's going to let Alex know the score as soon as I'm in place," he said to redirect the conversation, "but he's too close to Magneto where he is to know anything until the last second."

"Nice way of sayin' your brother's got a big mouth," Logan said half under his breath as he pulled the map closer.

Scott smirked. "He's my first choice to get me out of there," he said. "I know it'll be rough - Magneto hits hard-"

"So you're gonna break form and kill him," Logan said, frowning deeper somehow.

"There's not really another option here."

"You're not a killer," Logan said.

"I'm also not built to let a megalomaniac take control of my _son_." Scott paused. "Your son."

Logan blinked and looked down at the maps and photos again. "Where you plannin' to stab him?" he asked, blatantly not addressing what Scott had said when it was clear he was off his game.

"Honestly, the major problem is that his damn costume is designed to keep him safe," Scott said, glad for the excuse not to bring up what he saw as a verbal gaffe, even if, to Logan, it was just confirmation that he'd picked the right guy for godfather if _that _was how defensive he was gonna get in a situation like this.

"Can you show me?" Logan asked. There was no doubt in his mind that Scott needed to be walked through this in all the ways he _never _liked to practice things. Particularly where murder was concerned. Scott just didn't _think _of the best ways to _kill_. But Logan had no trouble with that kind of planning. He did _not, _however, like the settling sense of dread as he tried to give Scott a crash course in murder.

Scott nodded and flipped over one of the papers on the table to find one of the newspapers with Magneto in the headlines. There were plenty of them lately - from every angle, so it made remembering how exactly the costume was designed easy enough. "He's more paranoid than ever," he said. "And he's lashing out while insulating himself with every step."

Logan nodded again and took a moment to study the pictures, fighting every impulse he had to just go deal with Magneto _himself_, because Scott was _not _a killer - and Logan didn't _want _him to be. "Cover your ears, princess," Logan said toward Billy as he picked up a pen to start walking Scott through where he thought there were weaknesses, highlighting the _anatomy _of where the major vessels were, even if they weren't easy to spot. "Most of it'd work around the neck, but you're wasting your time if you don't hit the right spots there, too. Base of the skull would be quickest - those damn helmets never did go down enough to block his neck right. You can always go for the carotid - that's fast an' relatively painless, or just slash across the whole front. But your best shot is up through the soft part under his chin ... " Logan tipped his chin up and made sure to demonstrate the best angle with his hand and arm flat. "Good for the quick motion, put some power behind it." He turned the knife over in his hands a few times, testing out a couple of different grips, then set it down before he looked Scott in the eyes. "You need to practice the motion if you're gonna get it right."

Scott tipped his head back to look at Billy. "You brought him here because I'm rusty, didn't you?"

Billy had his head in the fridge. "No, I brought him here because the me in this universe is dating your son, and I'm not thrilled with the ripple effects of double-tragedy in both families."

"What kind of double tragedies?" Logan asked, half-glaring Billy's way.

Billy didn't move from where he was rooting around for something to eat or drink. "Well, if Scott and Erik kill each other, James can't handle it, and then the me in this dimension has lost his grandfather _and _his boyfriend, and Rachel and Nate have lost their dad _and _their brother. Kind of a race to see which of the three of them does more damage in their grief. I'd win, but it's not pretty from any of us, or anyone else for that matter."

"You really suck at disclosin' information, princess," Logan called out.

Billy straightened up with a bottle of root beer and saluted Logan with it. "I'm still working on sanity, okay?"

"Yeah, but findin' out you're a dirty cradle robber might have been a good lead," Logan said.

"We're the same age here," Billy defended.

"Uh-huh."

Scott was looking at Billy a little better. "Alright, now I'm wondering if ours is going to end up with galaxies in his eyes."

"No," Billy said. "It's sort of a … Demiurge-specific… it's a thing."

"It's better that way," Logan said. "Save you all the bad jokes about star-gazing."

"James would do that, too," Scott said, shaking his head.

"He would," Logan agreed with a sigh. "These timelines are somethin' else, Scotty."

"Then I'll refrain from telling you about the one where Rachel's your granddaughter," Billy teased, though Scott did a clear double take, even if Logan didn't look too fazed.

"You just brought my wife a daughter from another universe that's half _Creed_," Logan said flatly.

Scott narrowed his eyes at that. "Seriously?"

"Hey, she was three and tiny and scared, and Sabretooth was gonna kill her," Billy defended.

"I know damn well it wasn't anything K would've gone along with," Logan said.

"No kidding," Scott said, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes. "He killed her here."

"Killed her there too. Couldn't have been square."

"No, first his kid had her locked up and tortured until she couldn't think," Scott said, still rubbing his eyes. "It's no consolation, but you took his head off for it, if you're wondering."

"Not the first time," Logan said as he got up to take another beer out of the fridge. "Won't be the last. Seems to be the best way to deal with him, but I gotta admit, K has a few great suggestions. A lot of 'em involve inventive ways to light 'im on fire, but that might just be her idea of stretchin' before the big show."

"Sounds like her," Scott said with a small smile before he let out a long breath. "Alright. Let's go over this one more time."


	56. Master of Manipulation

**A/N - Oh, thank you so much for your reviews. Yes, Avenger, you're right. We can put a few more out now at a little better pace. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 56 - Master of Manipulation**

* * *

On the weekend of Alex's birthday, Scott woke up in a cold sweat.

He'd had nightmares on and off ever since what happened with Graydon Creed had decimated his family. They hadn't ever stopped. But this time … this time was different. This time, he had more concrete worries about his kids. This time, he'd dreamed that the department had sent another monster after them, that they had scooped them up and used them up until they killed them all.

And he'd lost all the family he had left.

It wasn't the best of mindframes to be in as he headed to Genosha with a gun in a small-of-the-back holster, Jean's locket, and three ceramic knives, not to mention a panic button. He knew the kids knew where he was going, and he felt bad about how worried they looked, but Magneto had been on the news just two days earlier on a spree, crushing several buildings belonging to governments around the world. And not all of them were clearly linked to anti-mutant programs. Some of them were destroyed just for their inaction.

He was putting a target on mutants, especially on Genosha. And that knowledge on top of the threats Erik had made against James were driving Scott forward.

Logan was right - he wasn't a killer. But he also couldn't ask anyone else to make the hard decisions when there was no other option. He had to know when to cross the lines in the sand - he'd learned that much when he lost his sight.

And if he couldn't leave his kids, if he couldn't give up, then he had to do something to keep them safe. Stopping Magneto would go a long way toward giving them a chance to _breathe_.

He and Kitty had talked it through a hundred times. Without the professor to stop Magneto, they had to fall back on a sharper plan.

Scott sighed and held on to the strap of the overnight bag on his shoulder as the ship arrived and Alex and Lorna greeted him there. At least that much had him smiling as his younger brother wrapped him in a hug and put his arm around Scott's shoulders, even if he was clearly disappointed that Scott hadn't brought the kids.

But that part of the trip? That part was some of the most fun Scott had had in a while. Lorna and Alex's kids were fun to play with - not to mention Alex himself showing off surfing and then preening about his kids and their own surfing talent.

It was when the day was over and Scott went back to the royal stronghold with Lorna and Alex that things turned more serious.

"Scott," Erik said, smirking to himself. "Have you finally come to your senses now that your children have gotten a scare or two?"

Scott stopped in the hall and then turned to face Erik. "I came to see my little brother, actually. Kids couldn't make it this time, as much as they wanted to. Rachel is on rotation with the Avengers, and the boys have some big tests they need to study for; otherwise, they'd be here with me to celebrate Alex's birthday," he said, trying to keep his tone in check when _Erik _had been one of the "scares" his kids had gotten. He wasn't going to forgive that. Or forget it.

"Yes, I'm sure that was the _only _reason you came," Erik said. "You're aware that the chatter from the less-than-savory groups has skyrocketed for _two _of those children, anyhow."

"I'm well-aware," Scott said. "James lost his cowl and Rachel lost her temper. An attempt was made on the team, and I'm already thinking of moving again in case anyone puts it together on Nate, too. He's still in high school; I'm not taking risks with him."

"So bring them here," Erik said, his tone richer and much warmer. "They're both welcome, and you know they'd be safe here."

"I don't know," Scott said. He didn't miss that Erik had only included two of his children in his offer of safety. But he had a plan; he needed to get close to Erik so he could catch him off-guard. And that meant trying to _reason _with him. Like the professor would have. "You know Genosha has a target on it now too, don't you? After those last governmental raids you ran?"

"I have always been acutely aware of the risks," Erik said. "But I also know the target is more on me than it is the island or the city itself. And I'm rarely here as of late."

"I noticed that too," Scott said.

"I can arrange for a comfortable home for you and your family," Erik said.

"You know I'd take you up on it if I didn't want to take Nate from his school," Scott said. He figured that was the most believable lie - and knew that Erik would give more consideration to Nate than to James. Even so, he couldn't help but test Erik's boundaries by bringing up Kate. "He's graduating in a couple years, and he really has fallen for this girl."

Erik scoffed at that. "Yes, I've seen the girl."

"She was upset when he got hurt," Scott said in a sigh.

"Teenage infatuation."

"If I tried to break them up, they'd only get more involved. You know how that goes." Scott shook his head. "I appreciate the offer. I really do. If you're serious… I might take you up on bringing them here for the summer and then going back for the school years. I'm honestly still considering options."

"It would be in everyone's best interests," Erik said. "And that would work well with Wanda's intention with the boys."

"I'm trying to let them be their own people, make their own mistakes-" Scott rubbed his eyes. "It's hard to do that and watch out for them at the same time." He glanced up at Erik. "If it was just me, it would be a different story."

"Come on, Scott," Alex said with a concerned frown as he stepped up next to Scott and put his arm around Scott's shoulders. He'd hung back as long as he could, but now, he couldn't fight the urge to get his brother _away _from Magneto. "You look like you need a break."

"I do," Scott admitted as Alex's kids rushed over to wrap him up in hugs that Scott gladly returned. "You guys go ahead. I think I'd like to take a little time alone for a while, if that's alright." When Alex and Lorna shared a look but nodded all the same, Scott let out a breath and headed in the opposite direction from the others, ending up on the balcony of his suite overlooking the seaside view of Genosha for a long while.

That part _hadn't _been planned, but it ended up being tactical all the same. Scott really did need a break from Erik's pushing so he could stick to the plan. The actual celebration for Alex wasn't set to happen until the following day, when Corsair would be there, too. Both Summers boys were anxious about their father being that close to Magneto. Humans that hadn't been taken prisoner hadn't been _allowed _on Genosha since Captain America and Iron Man had come to help after the X-Men had been gutted so many years ago. With all that in mind, Scott _needed _the opportunity to refocus.

That was how Erik found him, a few hours later, long after Alex had left. Scott was quietly sitting on a chair on the balcony overlooking the city and playing with Jean's locket, letting it drift between his fingers as he watched the ocean beyond the barriers of the city itself. He missed Jean desperately, especially in that moment. He missed her _clarity_. And despite his promise to James, he found himself wishing to see her again. He was so _tired _of doing this alone.

"You must know that I'm right about things concerning your safety," Erik said gently from the doorway. "Especially with how the humans have been handling themselves lately."

"Hello again, Erik." Scott didn't move from where he was seated. The years had gone by so quickly. And now, Scott could almost feel the moments as they rushed past faster and faster. But he could feel the weight of those years, too. "It's been _so long_," he said softly. "Watching it all happen again, watching the kids put themselves at risk while the world tries to shout them down, it feels like it just happened yesterday."

"Nothing has changed," Erik said, some anger slipping back into his tone, though it still remained soft. "They still hate us for the power we hold. You cannot expect that to change by _hiding_."

"No," Scott said in a breath. He finally tore his gaze from the ocean. "You're going to destroy them, aren't you?" he asked. His tone didn't hold any accusation to it - if anything, he sounded tired, resigned. "Until the world is nothing but mutants?"

"The initial leap into mutantkind was sudden. The extinction of the humans truly would be the natural course to take," Erik said. "Of course, I only plan to reverse the tables, not kill an entire species. The world leaders, the ones who lead the hatred and exploit mutants - yes. They will die. The rest … let them go to some distant place and stay there in exile."

"Give us the world and them Genosha," Scott summarized, one eyebrow raised. "Ambitious." He paused. "I'm asking because my son - he really has fallen for Kate. I want to be sure your goal isn't destroying the few who _are _standing by us. I know what's being said on the news, but the professor always gave you the chance to tell your own story. Maybe you're exactly what you say you are, and my kids and I couldn't be anyplace safer than right here. And maybe you're the genocidal maniac on the news. So which is it?"

"It depends entirely on who you ask, Scott. As you know well enough yourself."

"That's why I'm asking _you_," Scott said. "The same people who called me a terrorist not that long ago are still working today and painting you with the same brush. I'd rather know the truth - wherever it falls." He got to his feet and spread his hands out wide. "It matters to me - the truth. I don't care what you're telling the world or even what you're telling the people of Genosha. Be honest with me, please. Do you really think you can fix this and keep my kids safe _and _happy?"

Erik watched Scott carefully. "I'm sure there would be some complaints to start with," he said diplomatically. "But once they saw it was for their own good, yes. I think they'd be safe and happy. I've already looked into making sure all three of them would have all they need to keep themselves engaged in their passions should they come here."

"That's all I'm asking," Scott said, letting his hands drop to his sides. "I'm just tired of hoping the Avengers catch everything."

"That was _always _a waste of time and a perfect example of misplaced faith."

"I honestly think they mean well, but…" Scott let the statement hang in the air, then let out his breath and turned to Erik more fully. "You were right. The world still needs mutants to have a voice. I'm just trying to decide if I should step out of the way and let the new generation be that voice or if those of us that laid that groundwork still have something to give. They're the ones set to inherit the world. Shouldn't we let them?"

"Only when their time comes," Erik said. "Until then, it's our _duty _to handle it ourselves and clear the way for them. Not … pawn it off on those not yet equipped to handle it."

Scott smirked dryly and waved his hand in front of his face. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not entirely equipped to handle it either."

"Not in the capacity that you used to," Erik said. "But to speak up … that could do a lot of good for everyone, if it was done properly."

Scott tipped his head, crossing his arms. "I'm listening," he said, knowing that simple statement would earn him more trust than anything else he could have said - and get him that much closer to ending this charade once and for all.

Erik smirked to himself. "Tell the world your story. Down to the most intricate detail. Show them what happens when humans are allowed to dictate the rules and how mutants are _handled_ like pests. And do so with your children beside you. The world has seen _one _of their faces, and I know for a fact the world is frothing at the mouth to hear that story. Simply being there with you, they would demonstrate the lengths you've gone to all these years - to keep _those children _safe ..."

"That… could cause uproar," Scott said slowly. "I still have a hard time telling that story. There's a lot of power in it, and we both know it. It's the absolute worst of humanity."

"And yet, those young people were the smallest victims of a heartless captor." Erik let his tone drop quieter. "If you don't think that your story - and your children - wouldn't unite the mutants of the world, then you've lost your touch with how people think."

"I don't want to end up 'uniting' them into a frenzy," Scott pointed out. "I don't doubt my kids can lead. I taught them. I know they can." He let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair, completing the picture he was trying to paint of a harried father. "You're not wrong. There's a lot the world doesn't know - and they should know it. I just need to find a way to tell it that won't incite mutants against humanity itself…"

"I don't think that it's up to you to try and choose the impact of the story, Scott. But it needs to be told clearly and as it happened, and I'm very sure that for you, it's still fresh enough to make an impression. The others have let time erode the sharpness of their emotion in favor of letting those memories fade. You have not done so."

"The others don't look at Jean and Logan every day," Scott said.

"Yes, I suppose that's true enough," Erik said, his eyes glittering. "Which makes me sure that you should be the one to speak up. If anyone should hold a grudge ... " He gestured to Scott. "You have to look at two younger doppelgangers while staring at that scar every time you look in the mirror. It's a measure of your tolerance that you've managed to do as well as you have with the three of them and with so many reminders staring at you."

"I hate it," Scott said, letting some real anger out in his voice.

"So what will you _do _about it?"

Scott let out a frustrated sound. "_Talking _doesn't feel like enough!" he said, suddenly and sharply - and getting a surprised but pleased sort of look out of Erik.

"Of course it doesn't," Erik agreed. "Talking has _never _worked in the past. Just like talking has never worked to rein in rebellious teenagers. Tell me, Scott. What measures have _you _taken to keep an eye on your children? The world had advanced from when you were a young man."

"I've surrounded us with people I trust," Scott said. "_And_ I have been surveilling the areas where we live. Stark's security measures have only gotten better with every new upgrade."

Erik chuckled. "You've been trusting the Avengers too much. Have you made use of _all _the resources available to you? I doubt that you have, somehow."

Scott gestured with one hand. "Enlighten me, then."

"One of your sons has been working for Stark - I thought for sure you'd have better surveillance than what he _allowed _you to use. Has the boy done anything at _all _to advance the safety of the group on his own?" He smirked to himself. "My own home has advancements well beyond what you've got on your building, and I don't have free access to Stark's endless resources."

"I also have two telepaths in my home who know exactly how paranoid they _need _to be to survive," Scott said.

"Yes, but for how long?" Erik asked, "Telepaths have become rather hard to come by, if you haven't kept up on the acquisition lists. They are nearly as rare as ferals are. Even here."

Scott's eyes narrowed. "Erik," he said slowly, every syllable sharp, "there is _nothing _I won't do to keep them safe. _No one _is getting those kids."

"Nothing you won't do except the obvious." He smirked. "And considering the way that those _weapons groups _are rallying, you sound naively optimistic."

"If you've watched any of the footage from the team's most _recent _encounter, you know they even sent a damn _Creed_. You don't have to lecture _me_ about it," Scott snapped back.

"I interrogated those men that were sent to my prisons," Erik said in a low tone. "But that Creed would have succeeded had my grandson not stepped in. Those soldiers had plenty to say once they were here. And I am very sure your _Avengers _wouldn't have gotten anything out of them."

Scott's mouth was a thin line. "Look," he said, matching Erik's tone, "I wouldn't have even come here if I wasn't willing to do anything - _anything _\- to keep them safe. And that includes hearing you out despite the way you've treated James."

"I haven't laid a finger on him," Erik replied, looking perfectly affronted.

"Is that how you justify wrapping him up in wires and scrap metal?" Scott asked.

"I told you before that I lost my temper," Erik said, shifting to a more placating stance and tone. "The boy was unharmed."

"I know." Scott took a deep breath and let it out through his nose, dropping his shoulders, too. "Their push to get James _to start - _let alone the others - has been ramping up, and you know damn well that I'm running out of options," he said at last.

"Yes, you are," Erik agreed, then gestured for Scott to join him. "I have something to show you. Perhaps it will ease your mind. _Most _of the time, it helps me."

Scott was watching for an opening as he followed Erik to a room, where there were several monitors - many of them monitoring threats, of course, but several dedicated to the kids. The school. The outside of James' lab. And several rooms in Scott's decoy apartment.

Scott felt like he couldn't breathe, though he heard himself ask, "How did you even get in my apartment?"

"You're hardly a shut in, Scott."

Scott shook his head, coming to the monitor closest to Erik to reach out and touch the screen where Rachel could be seen talking with Betsy as they worked on her control. On another screen, Nate was obviously enjoying Kate's attention even if he was still playing catch up in his homework. Tommy and Mia were stealing kisses instead of playing chess. Billy and James were hand in hand walking into the lab, back from a short break to grab some food together.

"You've been watching them this whole time," Scott breathed out.

"When I'm here, yes," Erik said.

Scott shook his head slowly, realizing that he was seeing Erik at the height of his paranoia. It just made the threats against James that much more concrete, knowing how much effort Erik had _already _put into preparing to act on those threats. And that - that was too much for him to ignore. Seeing his _kids _in the crosshairs - _again _\- something snapped.

He moved exactly the way he'd practiced with the Logan from another dimension, but Erik hadn't quite been convinced enough to relax - not that he _ever _would have been with how high his paranoia levels were lately. So when Scott made his move, Erik stepped back just enough that Scott missed the fatal blow but still managed to sink his knife near Erik's collarbone.

Erik shot backward, away from Scott, but when he tried to lift his arm in Scott's direction, he simply couldn't pick that arm up high enough to do so. His confusion and disbelief at being that injured gave Scott the time he needed to close the gap again, rushing forward and ready to fight before Erik could gather his senses. Scott hit him nearly in a tackle, leading with the knife in his hand - in a rush to take him _out_. Though Scott's strike was true, the armor Erik was wearing was steady, and the ceramic blade splintered and broke when Scott tried to slip it between two panels. On seeing how close to a fatal blow Scott almost landed, Erik reached out toward Scott, expecting to find a steel knife. When he _didn't _find steel though, he let out a roar - thinking of the stockpiles of non metallic weaponry that James had in his lab - just before he took the only metal Scott had on him now. The locket and Scott's cybernetic eyes.

Scott couldn't stop his scream when it happened, either. He hadn't been expecting it, and he was reeling badly enough that he couldn't have possibly prepared for when Jean's locket came back toward him and ended up embedded close to his heart - and would have been right through if he hadn't bent over as he gasped in air trying to alleviate the pain.

The next thing he knew, the locket left his chest and wrapped around his throat. And _that_, finally, was such an urgent threat that he was able to _think _about more than just how badly he was hurt to remember one of the failsafes he'd brought. Fumbling and losing steam fast, he managed to hit a button on his watch that activated a small dampener there - and all at once, he could breathe again as the locket settled on the floor.

Of course, being denied access to his powers only infuriated Erik more, and he removed the first knife Scott had used against him, stalking forward with a low, dangerous, "I think it's past time you joined your team."

Scott was bleeding badly and massaging his throat, but he reached for the last of his ceramic knives and forced himself to _focus_ as he settled into a fighting stance. "You act like I've never had to fight blind before."

"Rest assured you won't have to again." Erik was confident as he rushed toward him, but Scott was the one to draw blood first as the two of them fell into a viciously lopsided knife fight, slicing away at each other. With Erik bleeding and unable to lift one arm and Scott bleeding from his chest and face, they were already fighting less elegantly than they would have at their prime. But that didn't seem to matter to either of them. Not when it was abundantly clear that neither of them could hold anything back and survive the fight.


	57. To Me, My X-Men

_A/N - Practically An Avenger, as always we love your shouty reviews and your Corsair side eye. Please don't stop. _

* * *

**Chapter 57 - To Me, My X-Men**

* * *

The Summers kids and their significant others, meanwhile, had broken into little groups almost as soon as Scott had left - and they'd all agreed to reach out if anyone got word from those on Genosha that something was wrong. Billy had even managed to come up with a spell that would tip them off if something drastic happened outside of the watchful view of Alex or Kitty.

But while they waited, there really was no reason to bunch up, and instead of holding their collective breath, the little group had paired off to wait. Billy and James in particular had headed out to grab a bite. Billy had hoped it would get James to take a step or two down from the honest-to-God raised hackles and super tense stance, but that alone … no dice. A few stolen kisses and a little quiet time, though … that at least had James settling down a _little_, but it was clear he was going to be tense until this Genosha thing was in the rearview mirror.

"I swear, I'm not trying to be a stress ball," James said when they'd gotten back to his lab at Stark's tower. "I just …so, the reason I took up therapy is that I learned some things from Dad after he busted me out on the bug on the island, and I'm a little freaked out by it, if I'm being perfectly honest."

"Okay, well, maybe I can help if you're finally going to tell me what's been on your mind," Billy offered. "You don't have to share details if you don't want to, but maybe I can… I don't know…"

James let out a heavy sigh as he dropped down onto the couch, realizing that Billy really did need to know all of it, too. Even if he was sure it would send Billy running. "Maybe. I got Dad to tell me the whole story of what happened with my parents and the X-Men."

Billy let out a low whistle. "That already sounds bad. I know you didn't know because it _was _bad, so, like… this is bad, right?"

"It is," James replied slowly. "But … believe it or not, I think I get it? Which is what's had me so stressed out."

"That actually doesn't make any sense, James," Billy said, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

"Yeah, because I haven't told you what I know. Like … for starters, did you know my mom killed your uncle? Because I didn't know that before Dad told me."

"Oh." Billy shrugged. "Yeah, Grampneto is still mad about it, actually."

"And did you know that Tyler's dad tortured and killed my mom in front of everyone _after _Logan blinded Dad? I mean … I suspected as much from the scars, but I didn't know _why._"

"Okay, that part I didn't know," Billy said, his eyes wide as he held his breath.

James's tone got much quieter, but it was because he didn't want to say the next part too loudly, not because he was worried about being overheard. "Sabertooth… told Logan in a very deceptive way that his _son _had asked for him before he died." James focused on Billy's hand as his thumb rubbed over the back of Billy's hand. "I didn't know I had a big brother - and he didn't register with Logan as a possibility. So, thinking _I had died_, Logan killed himself after he killed Mom's murderer."

Billy was silent for a long time before he whispered, "I don't even know where to start."

"I know. I haven't told Nate and Rach, and I've been blocking them both unless I was reaching out specifically, which I've been trying to avoid," James said. "But … after knowing how my parents were with me - and with each other? I get it."

"Okay, but now you're worrying _me_."

"I'm just saying … I understand it. I'm not looking to use it as a life model."

"Yeah, but, I mean, consider how it looks from my end? You're all stressed out, your dad's fighting my grandfather, and then you tell me the thing that's on your mind is murder and suicide?"

"He told me about all this our last day in Genosha. It's been on my mind ever since, and I've been trying to think of pretty much anything else." He let out a breath. "And I _know _Dad's right on the brink."

"But it seemed like he was having _fun _with the mission!"

"I think he was," James said. "But after he started telling me the story, he was slipping fast."

"It's a really bad story, James," Billy said, still speaking at a whisper.

"It is," James agreed. "And _that _ …" He let out a heavy sigh. "So, my parents didn't know it wasn't me that Sabretooth was talking about right away, and Dad blames himself for Xavier's death … and everything else.… There were others that were killed before all that mess too... And I guess the idea that they'd kill a three year old was enough to make my Aunt Jean snap. _That's _what set her off. But she didn't totally lose it until she saw I _wasn't _dead. How's that for fun family dynamics?"

Billy stared at him for a long while as he held his hand. "You know it's not your fault, right?" He held up a hand between them. "I'm just checking, because… it can't be easy finding out you were a major player, and you know you were _teeny, _right?"

"I know. That's why I've been seeing a therapist since we got home." James looked up at Billy and forced a smile. "It's a bad story, and I didn't want to tell it to anyone, but I knew I needed professional help. But don't worry.… I wasn't a player; I was a _prop_. All of us were. They had Rachel wired, more or less, and were using that to make my mom do stuff. They were using all of us kids against the adults like that." He gestured widely. "Hell. The guy that was running it had _me _to force Logan to blind Dad."

"I'm so sorry," Billy said. "That… that just sucks. There's no way to spin it that isn't terrible."

"Yeah. I know. It is. But I can't change it." James let out a sigh. "I guess what I'm saying is, if I'd lost everyone I loved, _like Logan thought he did_ … I get it. I understand why he did it, and I'm not mad at him anymore. But that's not a danger here. I still have the people I love. That's what's keeping me here, honestly."

Billy nodded gently and simply wrapped James in a long, tight hug, since he didn't know what else he could _do,_ and that was all he could think of, trying to _show _him that it was alright, even when it didn't feel like it.

Just as James was _starting _to relax a little, Billy's spell went off with a shrill whistle that made both of them jump.

James stared around the room for a moment, ordering his thoughts. "I need to get there _now_."

Billy was wide-eyed as he nodded. "I need to grab - hold on -" he said, holding James' hand tight before he whispered his spell. First, _IwantRachelandNatehere _and then _IwanttogotoScott_ over and over again until the spells took hold, and the next thing the Summers kids knew, they were in Genosha, in a room filled with monitors.

"Where is he?" James said, taking only a few moments to scan the monitors before he realized the screens weren't showing anywhere on Genosha. He took a few steps backward, closed his eyes to focus on the scents around him, and took off at a dead run following Scott's scent trail from where the fight he and Erik were in had started … and moved through the palace.

"Follow," Rachel said, pushing the two boys after James. "Fast."

James nearly skidded to a stop when he could smell the blood in the air when he got close to the fight that was still going on. Erik had a knife in his hand and his arm drawn back over Scott. Both of them were bleeding and slashed up from the fight they must have had before the kids could get there. But the part that had James off his game was all the blood around Scott's face … the fact that his eyes looked sunken in, like something was missing that would let him open his eyes when he was at such a disadvantage... All at once, as he realized what Magneto must have done, James didn't even feel the growl or notice it when he snarled - much louder and lower than any time before. He was mad enough that he didn't register that he was in motion, rushing to get in between Scott and Erik. And for a few moments, for James, everything faded out except the trouble at hand as, for the first time, he went into the red as he defended his dad.

The others didn't have a chance to step in. They didn't get the opportunity to _help _for as fast as James had been, so instead of worrying about helping him, the Summers kids rushed in behind James to try and get to their dad, with Billy trying to take stock of what to _do_.

When James blinked out of the red haze a few minutes later, it was to an almost deafening ringing in his ears, and he realized quickly that he had a _lot _of blood on his hands. His chest was aching deeply enough that it was hard to breathe - and every breath was more painful than the last. It took him a few moments to look down and realize that he was bleeding from the knife lodged in his chest near the center. His hands were bleeding too, and on seeing the blood dripping off his fingers, it was like the nerves in his arms and hands woke up at once and started screaming at him - which was how James realized that he'd used his claws. That in itself was shocking, since he hadn't known for sure if they'd even grown back after Tyler snapped them off. But the claws had already retracted, and on seeing and smelling _so much blood_, James was dizzy and a little sick to his stomach.

Nate and Rachel were already crouched down next to Scott, and James glanced around the room to get his bearings even as the world spun around him. He didn't even _see _Erik until he'd nearly tripped on him, and then, he slipped on the bloody floor and nearly lost his balance entirely. "Oh, no," James whispered out when he saw the slash marks and puncture wounds on Erik - perfectly spaced, three at a time. He half reached toward Erik, though that thought was abandoned when he saw how much his hands were bleeding, and he swayed on his feet.

"James," Nate called out when he saw that his brother was coming out of whatever that _snap _had been. His voice sounded shaky - not just from seeing James lose it but also from seeing his dad so badly hurt. "We found your dampener bracelet thing that Dad was wearing so … so um… don't touch that knife and try not to bleed out, wouldja? Powers should be coming back on now…" He was fumbling with the device as he said it, his hands slicked with their dad's blood as he and Rachel had been trying to help him.

Rachel, for her part, was trying to stop their dad from bleeding out, but she didn't know what was the worst stuff that she needed to _stop_. Even though Scott had still been conscious when they arrived, he had passed out by the time James came back to himself, and Rachel didn't know if the wound in his chest or the discoloration and blood on his neck or the long cut soaking his leg with blood was the worst problem.

James blinked at his family for a moment but didn't reply, still trying to figure out what _exactly _he'd done and quickly slipping into shock from the situation and the loss of blood. He stumbled back a few steps, staring at Erik in horror for a long moment and trying desperately to remember what had happened as he began to inch closer to hyperventilating in a panic attack. He knew the outcome, but he couldn't remember hitting Erik at _all_, and he didn't know how either of them ended up stabbed. But a low, soft moan of pain from Scott drew his attention. "Is Dad …"

"He's… breathing," Rachel said, though she was pale, and there was fire at the corners of her eyes as she panicked. "He and Magneto really did a number on each other. Oh, God…"

James wandered closer to them, clearly still in a daze and shaking as he dropped to his knees to join his siblings. He had _no _idea where to even start. Emotionally, he was numb, but his entire body ached, and once he realized _that_, he was sure the knife in his chest hurt more with every heartbeat. Without thinking about the consequences, and deep down _knowing better_, his hand drifted up to take hold of the hilt.

"Wait," Nate said when he saw the movement from his brother, but James couldn't hear him properly, and his body seemed to be working on autopilot. A moment later, James let out an involuntary sound of pain as he pulled the blade free before Nate could get close enough to stop him. Too late, Nate shouted at him as James dropped the blade, half-heartedly clutching at the horribly bleeding wound and not processing anything around them as the blood flowed.

Billy, meanwhile, was the only one who wasn't crowding a bruised and badly bleeding Scott — he was standing off to the side and _staring _at Erik, holding his breath and trying to get the image of his grandfather stabbing James in the heart out of his head. Erik's shift in target was smooth, focused, and seamless, and the expression on his face when he sunk his knife into James' heart was one Billy _knew _was going to haunt his dreams for a while. Not to mention the raw reaction James had when he let _loose _all those feral instincts was jarring to say the least. Especially since it wasn't until after Erik had stabbed him that James really lost his temper and the claws came out. He saw that James had tried just pushing him away from Scott _first._ Even when James saw Erik was trying to kill Scott, he wasn't pushing to do the same.

When Billy heard Rachel let out a muffled almost-sob, he finally snapped out of his daze and came close to where the others were. He was quietly crying, but he put a hand on James' shoulder and another hand on Scott's arm.

_Iwantustogohome. Iwantustogohome. Iwantustogohome._

In a blink, all of them were back in the Summers home, appearing in the middle of the living room - though that didn't help the immediate situation with Scott when he was unconscious and in a bad way.

Except … a different universe's Billy was in the living room too. Along with a different Logan.

"I got it _wrong,_" the younger Billy said in a horrified voice as Logan darted forward, shoved Nate and Rachel back, and started to triage Scott, swearing up a blue streak as he did so.

"No, you didn't," James said, though he didn't get to explain further as Logan pushed him back, too. That in itself was enough to stop James cold.

"Damnit, Scooter, you're not _allowed _to bleed out, you pig-headed pain in my-" Logan snarled out, only to be cut off mid curse.

"_What the hell is even happening right now?_" Nate blurted out, staring at Logan.

"Hey, hi, it's a long story," the older Billy said, gently pulling Nate and Rachel further back by the shoulders as James quietly took _his _Billy's hand and all of them stared at the newcomers. "We're here to help, I promise. Dimension-hopping helpers."

"Get Hank here _now_," Logan said. "Or whoever the hell's worth a damn for a doctor."

The older Billy looked toward Rachel, who was taking hyperventilating breaths and trying to keep the fire from spreading. "Avengers Tower?" he asked, and when she nodded, he teleported away with an Asgardian spell and then reappeared a moment later with a very confused Hank McCoy - who immediately swore when he saw the situation.

"Covered that already, Blue," Logan growled out.

"What _happened_?" Hank demanded. "Where did you come from?" he asked as well, though he was already diving in to get to work.

"That really the most important thing on your mind right now?" Logan challenged in a tone that spoke volumes on how upset he was watching Scott bleed.

"No, but when it's been over a decade, I'd say it's a fair question to pose!" Hank shot back, sounding just as stressed. "Get me some bandages. The magician who brought me here should have my bag, too."

"He can magic you a full flamin' ER if he gets his ass in gear," Logan barked out.

The older Billy startled. "Right," he said quickly, then snapped his fingers - and Hank had everything he needed right there in the living room, leaving the kids _even more confused_.

Hank didn't question it as he rushed to get Scott stable, but once Hank had everything he needed, Logan stepped back to give him room to _work_, though he looked anxious as he watched Hank.

"Okay," Nate said, one arm around a shaking Rachel. "But for real. What the hell."

"Different reality," Logan said as he tried to slow his breathing a little _before _he turned to the two of them. He narrowed his eyes and took a step forward on seeing Rachel still on the brink. "You doin' alright, darlin?" He held his hand out to her. "Let me see your wrist. This'll help."

Rachel glanced at Nate, who nodded in a silent promise to have her back, and then she held out her hand. "I'm trying to hold it back," she breathed out.

Logan took her hand gently and shifted how he was standing to get the right angle for the pressure points he was using. "Just breathe slow, close your eyes, and tell me when it lets up."

Rachel nodded, keeping her eyes closed, though neither of her brothers breathed until the fires finally faded, and then she sank into a seat on the couch with Nate still holding onto her tightly.

Logan let out a breath and then turned toward James and Billy, who were both in a heavy state of shock. "James, you need to clean up. Take Billy with you to catch your breath, and tell me about what happened when you get the blood out of your nose."

For a long moment, both of them just stood there in a daze, but when it was clear James _couldn't _bring himself to speak, Billy did it for him. "Is Scott going to be okay?" the younger Billy asked with a shaking voice.

"If he's not, I'm gonna have a new blue rug," Logan said - loudly enough for Hank to catch and give him a dirty look for.

"He'll pull through," the older Billy said from where he was magicking up a change of clothes along with all his younger self and James needed to clean the blood up. "Hank got here in time, and honestly, Scott did alright for starting with a framework he came up with when he wanted to die."

"What," Nate said flatly, looking up at the older Billy, who winced.

"Yeah… that's a whole discussion that I'm not the right person to go to if you want to have it," he said. "If it makes you feel better, he changed the plan so he _did _have backup and an exit plan, so-"

"Why the hell would that make me feel better about it?" Nate demanded - until Rachel broke out of her panic to pull Nate over and try to calm _him _down.

But James didn't move - still frozen to the spot and staring at Logan until Logan realized exactly how shell-shocked the kid was. Logan frowned as he watched James for a moment, and with a heavy sigh, Logan stepped toward James and reached up to rest one hand at the side of his neck and his other hand on James' shoulder, ignoring the mess there in a way the kids simply _couldn't_. "I promise I'll be here when you get back from cleaning up. I'll talk with you about whatever you want - answer any questions you might have as best as I can. I'm not gonna disappear on you." Logan held his gaze until James finally nodded, but it was clear he couldn't turn away from Logan, either.

"I got you," the young Billy said, slipping his fingers through James' and then giving his hand a squeeze. "Come on. We can come right back."

James followed Billy silently, though as soon as they were apart from the others, James pulled Billy to a stop, and everything bubbled up in a rush. "Billy … I'm so _sorry_. I didn't want to … I don't know what _happened_ back there on the island. I just wanted to get to my dad - _Scott -_ not … I didn't mean to… I didn't want to _touch him_, and I don't know ...I didn't want to hurt him, I just wanted him to _stop._"

Billy was surprised to hear it. "How can you not know what happened?" he asked. "You pushed my grandfather off your dad, and he stabbed you! He was trying to kill you when you weren't even going for a fight!"

"I don't remember it," James said, looking half scared at the admission.

Billy wrapped his arms around James. "It's okay. I've got you, okay? We'll - it was kind of intense. Maybe you just - blacked it out or - I've got you, okay?"

He nodded and returned the hug - though as soon as he had his arms around Billy, he really didn't want to let go.

Billy rested his head on James' shoulder, and for a long time, they stood there in silence before, quietly, Billy said, "So, I think that magician might be me."

"Yeah, looked like it," James said finally, his voice still shaking even as he tried to force some levity. "You were partially right. About the hair."

"Yeah." Billy took a deep breath and looked at James fully. "Your, um, Logan… that was… unexpected…"

"No kidding."

"Sounded like a good guy to have in your corner, though. In a pinch, I mean." James nodded, at a loss for words. Billy bit his lip and gave James another moment before a very big question bubbled up that he truly needed answered. "So … I'd suggest going to your room, but I don't know _where we are._"

"Ah," James' head popped up as if he had just realized they were in the _real _Summers house. "I wanted to bring you here sooner, I swear."

"So what about Kate's building?"

"That … is our backup," James said, honestly worried that he'd screwed things up too badly to even try to salvage. "I'm the worst boyfriend in history." He dropped his gaze to their hands. "I wanted to bring you here. But I was just trying to protect my family. I knew your grandfather was watching _you _.. and I didn't want him going after Dad. At all."

"You should have told me he was threatening you _way _sooner," Billy said.

"Wouldn't have changed anything," James replied. "I didn't let him scare me off, either."

"Are you sure you didn't stick with me to keep from dying?"

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "He wasn't going to kill me. Might have wanted to, and he might have tried, but that wasn't going to happen."

"He killed all of my exes, James. Even the ones that didn't do anything wrong. He would have kept trying until he managed to kill you."

"Only if you got tired of me." James paused and glanced up at him. "It's okay if you don't want me, you know. I won't hold it against you. I screwed things up pretty epically. I _murdered _your grandfather. Your family is going to hate me."

Billy swallowed and shook his head. "I saw… I mean, I can _see _what he did to your dad, and I _saw_ what happened when you tried to stop him from killing your dad, so, I mean, I'm not _okay, _but I'm not mad at _you_." He ran his hand through his hair. "If Grandfather hadn't - I mean, you _saw_, right? He… he would have killed you and your dad, and he was trying to do it in a way that _hurt. _I mean…" Billy shook his head, obviously still trying to process everything that had happened. Then, failing to find words, he just rested his head on James's shoulder - because he really needed James' rock steady presence just then when he thought about how much his grandfather was trying to make James and Scott _suffer_ before he killed them.

The sound of the monitors in the makeshift living room ER shifted to a more stable rhythm, and James suddenly looked as if he just remembered something important. He took a moment and pulled his cell phone out and hit the second name on his favorites list. He was biting his lip until Tony picked up on the other end with a cheerful greeting.

"Hi, um… the news is about to get really busy," James told him. "And I promise I will tell you as much as I can, but I need you to _please _bring whatever you can to give Dad his sight. We're at the real house, and we can't let him wake up without his vision."

"What happened?" Tony asked, though James could hear him scrambling to gather up what was needed.

"I … Dad went after Magneto," James said. "Magneto took his eyes … it's a mess, but Beast is working on him."

"Does Cap need to launch a counter attack?"

"_No_, nothing like that," James replied quickly.

"I know you want to protect your boyfriend's family but Magneto isn't someone you ignore. He _will _counter attack."

"No, Uncle Tony, _he won't_," James said, losing some of his steam and all of his forced calm. "I … ah … I killed Magneto."

There was silence for an uncomfortably long moment, and James was just about to say something when Tony cut in, sounding serious but calm. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Call me if _anything _happens."

"Okay," James said, though he barely stopped himself from apologizing to Tony too. This wasn't the kind of thing _Avengers _did. That was one more area that he'd screwed up, and he didn't realize how much he _didn't _want to blow that until just then. He hung up the phone after Tony did, then stared at it for a long moment, half afraid to say anything at all. But the blood that was still wet and sticking to itself on his hands and body reminded him of what he was supposed to be doing. So, he swallowed thickly and cleared his throat.

"I should really ... " He gestured down at his clothes. "Yeah."

Billy swallowed and blushed deeply. "I could help. In a totally… just trying to help way. I swear."

"I'm not going to _argue_ something like that, and I'm not going to put stipulations on what you can or can't do," James replied with a little smirk, because even now, in the middle of a disaster that had probably wrecked _everything_, it was easier to flirt than it was to figure out what had happened. "Especially if you're trying to _take care of me."_

Billy blushed a little deeper before he nodded, and the two of them disappeared into James' room to get him changed and cleaned up.

* * *

Scott has been dead before, so he recognized the sensation of peace and lightness that hit him when he reached the other side. And when he realized where he was, the first thing that registered with him was a wave of _relief_. He was _done_. He'd _finally _crossed the finish line.

The second thing that hit him was Jean Gray as she came rushing over to him and threw her arms around him in a tight hug. And as soon as he latched onto her just as tightly, it was like they'd never been apart. She pulled him into a passionate kiss, and he pulled her off her feet to reciprocate.

They didn't break too far apart when the kiss _did _break, and Scott rested his forehead against hers, drinking in her presence after so long apart. "I missed you," he whispered into her hair.

"Missed you too," she said and kissed him again. "I am _so sorry_. I couldn't hold it back."

"Don't apologize for the Phoenix," Scott said, shaking his head. "It wasn't your fault."

"I have to, though," she said. "I let it out. It's my fault things went so far. I knew better, and I did it anyhow. And look at everything I missed because of it." She smiled up at him and brushed his hair back from his face. "You are _amazing_."

Scott shook his head, still drinking her in. "And you're just as beautiful as I remember."

"Flatterer," she said before she leaned in and kissed him again.

"If there is one thing that I can always rely on, it's the fact that the two of you will forget every single thing that you ever thought was important while you are in each other's presence," Charles said in a warm tone - just to break up the reunion.

The two of them broke apart at last, though Scott kept a hand on Jean's waist as he stared at Charles. "Professor," he said softly.

Charles was smiling warmly. "Hello, Scott. I do believe you're early for this meeting, my boy."

Scott shook his head and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "You wouldn't even be here if it weren't for me."

"You did nothing wrong, Scott. The blame lies squarely on the monsters that did this to us. Not you. At all."

"I could have saved you," Scott insisted.

Charles shook his head lightly. "If you truly believe that, then do me a favor and ask the Demiurge what would have happened in that scenario when you go back."

"I don't think I've met the Demiurge yet," Scott said.

Charles let out a sigh, looking both amused and annoyed at the same time. "You met him not long ago. I believe you were introduced to him as the 'harbinger'," Charles said. "That is not his name or his title, rather a silly nickname that _his_ Logan or K gave him." He stepped forward - walking on his own steam for the first time that Scott could remember seeing - and for a moment, he realized how odd it was to look Charles in the eyes on the same level. "But that's not nearly as pressing as the fact that you _must _go back, Scott."

Scott's grip around Jean's waist tightened, and his expression fell. "So this isn't a permanent visit," he said, sounding downright depressed to hear it.

"It doesn't have to be," Jean told him gently. "Hank's trying to save you right now."

Scott turned toward Jean, once more taking in every detail of her face. "Please don't ask me to go back, Jean," he said, and her eyes were shining when she heard his tone. "I just got you back."

"It's your choice, Mr. Summers," Jean said, and though she was aiming for a prim tone, it was destroyed entirely by her smile. She'd missed him, too, and being around him again, she couldn't stop smiling no matter the subject matter. "When you choose, it should be a informed decision."

Scott sighed and kissed her. "I'd rather stay here with you, Mrs. Summers."

"And I can appreciate that decision better than anyone, oh, husband of mine, but … you might want to listen to the other side of the story first. As much as I hate to admit it, there are some good points."

"Fine," he said without moving back from her. The truth was that he already knew what his decision had to be; he was just so _tired,_ and he wanted to stay with Jean more than pretty much anything.

Jean didn't bother trying to hold back the laugh before she took his head in her hands and kissed him again. "I love it when you behave just to do it. Especially when you already _think _you have your mind made up."

"Love you too," he said, smiling.

"So," she said, arching one eyebrow. "Do you want to let Charles talk, or do you want to do this the fast way?"

"Oh, well, if there's an option that gives me more of your attention…"

"You and I have all the time in the universe, regardless of what you choose." She looked over her shoulder at Charles. "If it's all the same to you, I think we'll cover this part on our own. You can handle the wrap up - whichever way it goes."

"You know which way it needs to go, Jean," Charles said, but that only had her shooing him away.

"Like I said," Jean said as she turned back to Scott, "it's _your life_. Your decision."

"It's not really, though," he pointed out. "I know I'm needed, I just don't know how severely I'm needed..."

"You're not dead yet, but you're close to it - and when it's this close, it _is _your choice. So … let's go down your plusses and minuses list and see which way it works best _for you_."

Scott laughed outright. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," she said with a grin. "But I haven't been far from you - _at all_."

"I know," he said gently.

Jean curled into him so she could wrap him up and lean her head on his chest. "Good. As long as you know, let's get started. Column 'B' is to go back. Column 'A' is to stay. I'll list the B, you list the A - no matter how repetitive it gets."

"You're at the top of the list; Jean. You always are."

"Mr. Summers, be specific," Jean laughed.

"I thought I was already assigned Column A," he teased.

"Alright, that's fair. Okay … So … to go back … Rachel."

"The professor."

"Nate."

"Jubilee."

"Alex."

"K."

Jean's smile slipped. "James."

His smile dropped too. "Logan goes in yours, then. He'd never forgive me if I left James."

"Only because we already know where their heads are at," Jean told him. "I can show you."

"Do I want to know?" Scott asked, frowning.

"Which one?" Jean asked, rather than answer outright.

"That bad, huh?" He sighed. "Okay, show me."

Jean nodded, then took a moment to reach out and gently brush his mind, first and foremost - then led him through the sea of chatter to find Rachel first. She was barely holding on to herself and using every trick she knew to calm down and keep the Phoenix at bay as it whispered lies and promises to her, just like it had always done with Jean when things were hard to handle. It was everything Scott had been scared of for his daughter since the day she got her powers, and he felt all his breath leave him as he heard the Phoenix promising his _baby girl _that she could save her father, save _everyone_, if she let go of her control.

Scott hated that the Phoenix could use him against her so _easily_. He'd meant to give her relief, not give her another reason to listen to that firebird.

Jean let him soak it in and see where Rachel's mental state was headed before she gently redirected him to listen to Nate.

Nate, out of the three kids, had been the most outwardly calm … but on hearing his thoughts, Scott found himself shocked at how much more Nate's _mind _sounded like his own - tense and stretched on the edge of snapping while he put everyone else ahead of himself. Only, with Nate, the danger of letting go wasn't _fire_ \- it was psychically lobotomizing everyone for miles around him. There was no need to truly dwell on it … not when Scott was getting a clear impression of Nate's powers pulsing just under the surface and how destructive he could be if he lost his grip on his control by a hair. That was, essentially, why he'd had so much trouble keeping his powers under control. He was powerful enough that he used them without thinking about it. It just _happened_, so learning to stop it had been like learning to breathe in a new manner - and when he was panicking, his mind went back to the most natural setting. The one that didn't require him to restrain himself.

Scott wasn't sure how he could have missed that, since that had always been _his _problem - constantly trying to hold back a power that could destroy everything when it was always turned _on_. Nate had always played it down, always let James and Rachel take the brunt of his worry, because Nate wanted to be _normal_.

Scott wanted so badly to go back and tell Nate that he understood, that he could empathize more than Nate realized. He wanted to _help_.

He wasn't expecting the sharp shift when they went from the almost humming, swelling power of Nate's mind to James'. James was teetering right on the edge, convinced that everything leading up to that moment was the result of his mistakes. And he was sure that everything that he held dear was slipping away - a feeling that Scott was overly familiar with. Scott could feel the crushing guilt that James had taken onto himself, and he could see how the last year of being on the teams and everything else was starting to feel like the end that James had expected for himself since he was old enough to know how different he was from just about everyone else. James was sure his dad was dying and that his boyfriend was bound to drop him for having _murdered _Magneto (though Scott disagreed with that assessment entirely). Scott was surprised to find that the guilt _just _from Magneto was positively overwhelming for James. He truly felt horrible about killing him - regardless of circumstance. The other issues that stemmed from it were increasing in weight dangerously fast, from worrying about what the Avengers might say to half hoping that Wanda simply wiped him from existence.

The kid was on a fast track to destroying himself with all that building in his mind. And he wasn't even trying to hold back his outward distress - a fact that was only compounding as Billy tried to _help _him. And Scott couldn't let that happen. Not again. Not to his _son_.

Scott couldn't find anything to say when he and Jean came back from the peek into his kids' minds. He had known _parts _of what they were thinking, yes, but this was something else entirely. Seeing how close all three of them were to losing it…

He finally took a shuddering breath and covered his eyes with one hand, trying to center himself without losing his grip on his already frayed emotions after arriving in Heaven. "I'm so sorry," he managed to say at last. "I tried - I really did - to give them a better shot…"

"And you did," Jean agreed. "But they were always going to have their own challenges. That's not your fault. Blame genetics."

Scott picked his hand up to give Jean a dry look. "We never blamed genetics before."

"Yeah, well … it fits in this case," she said. "You forget, I've _seen _what you went through with those kids. And I've been in everyone's heads. Everyone's, Scott. I'm telling you. Genetics."

Scott shook his head, still shaken by what he'd seen and felt in his kids' minds. "You're right," he said at last. "The professor was right. They can't lose me. Not right now." At the admission, he found himself leaning into Jean, searching for support as he always did when they were together. Like they'd always done from the time they were teenagers in love, long before they got married.

"Yeah, I know," Jean said.

He sighed again and wrapped his arms gently around her, simply resting there as he tried to remember everything about her all at once, drinking all of it in and trying to burn it into his memory.

"It must be such a burden to be so loved," she said with a smile as she curled into him.

"You'd know," he said with a soft smile.

"Nothing like what you've got."

"You should have been there with me," Scott told her. "They'd love you too. They already revere your memory."

"Yeah … I did apologize for that, right? I would have loved snuggling with those three."

"I remember not accepting an apology, yeah," he said with a soft smile.

"Then I need to apologize again," she said, then popped up on her toes to kiss him again. "I will miss you… but … I don't want you to be miserable and just _waiting_. If you're going to live - _live. _Not just for the kids but for you, too."

Scott sighed as he took her face in his hands. "I guess I'll need to figure that out. I'm about to have an empty nest." He sighed again. "I don't know what I'll do then."

Jean smiled. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Scott smiled and stayed where he was for as long as he dared, at least until he started to once again feel like he wanted to stay there with her and with the family he'd lost. And once his thoughts turned that way, he straightened up, knowing he couldn't go down that road again. "Alright," he said softly. "Send me back, Jean Gray."

"Love you, Scott. I'll be here whenever you're actually _done_."


	58. I've Got You

_A/N - as always, much thanks to our reviewers. Practically An Avenger - All of your questions will be answered soon. X-MenoverAvengers - you're not exactly wrong. But the chapter before this one covers that part, so if you haven't caught up ... glad you chimed in. _

* * *

**Chapter 57 - I've Got You**

* * *

By the time that Hank had started to work a little more methodically and less frantically, Rachel and Nate were relaxing substantially more than before. Both of them were torn between worry for their dad and outright curiosity, too, and it showed. But just as Nate was ready to start asking the other-dimensional Logan a few things to elaborate, his phone went off with a text … from Alex. He took a moment to read it through, then turned to Rachel to be sure she was alright. _Can you handle this guy for a minute? _

_Yeah, why? What's wrong? _

_Nothing, just gonna give Uncle Alex a call, and I thought I'd do it away from this guy. He was supposed to be Dad's back up. If he came to see Magneto and found nothing but blood …_

_Yeah, go … I'll let you know if anything changes with Dad. I just want to stay here and keep watch._

Nate squeezed her hand and couldn't help himself as he glanced Logan's way before he headed upstairs to make a phone call. He noted to himself that James' door was closed and all was quiet, so he kept going to his room. And he barely connected before Alex picked up quickly - freaking out.

"What's going on?" Alex asked in a near shout. "I went to find your dad, and all I found was _Magneto_ … in the middle of his throne room in a pool of blood. Everyone is freaking out, his closest followers are calling for justice, Lorna's a _mess,_ and Wanda hasn't said a word since we found out!" Alex took a few breaths that Nate could hear even over the phone. "Where is Scott?"

"He's here," Nate replied calmly. "We got him out; he's … well. Beast is working on him. He and Magneto were pretty hard on each other."

"From what I saw? That is a massive understatement," Alex said. "How did you get him out of here? I didn't see any crafts, and Dad was watching from orbit for trouble."

"Billy got us there and back, actually," Nate said, his ears burning red. "But … if you want to know what's going on, you'd probably be better off just coming here. It's … I don't know how well Dad's going to come out of this."

"Yeah, I'm on the way," Alex said. "Expect me and Dad at least. Might grab the kids and Lorna too. She's probably going to need to get out of here. See you soon - and _call me _if anything else goes wrong. Got it?"

"Got it. Thanks, Uncle Alex." Nate hung up the phone and then headed back into the room, where Rachel was focused on reading Hank's thoughts so she knew how worried she needed to be about her dad.

While Hank was working, then, no one was talking. They were all just… waiting to see how things panned out. Because at that moment, everything hinged on whether or not Scott survived.

"So," Nate said, the first to break the spell of silence that was hanging over the living room, "I have questions."

"Shoot," Logan said as he sat back down and cracked open a beer.

"You're from a different dimension, right?"

"Yep."

"So why come here?" Nate asked. "I mean, no offense, but you're dead here."

Logan thumbed over his shoulder at the older Billy. "Harbinger said it'd help if I came."

"That's not my name," the older Billy said dryly.

"Was it an end of the world situation?" Logan challenged, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, yes, but-"

"Harbinger."

"Okay, second question," Nate said. "Now I want to know about the end of the world situation. I mean… I have a guess, but…" He glanced at Rachel, who flushed pink.

"What's your guess?" Logan asked.

"He knows I almost lost it when he got hurt," Rachel admitted.

Logan let out a sigh of longsuffering. "Believe it or not, the universe ain't wrapped around Summerses. So you can relax about carryin' the whole world on your shoulders."

Rachel gave him a dry look as the older Billy snorted. "He's not wrong," he said. "I mean, there were a lot of ways this could go wrong. Sure, the Phoenix was one, but that's just one." He thumbed over his shoulder toward where his younger self and James had disappeared upstairs. "Second problem: if your dad had managed to get killed like he was expecting, there are ripple effects and a heartbroken Billy Maximoff who you do _not _want to see taking up his grandfather's crusade, okay? It's _bad_."

"There's an understatement," Logan muttered, looking totally unapologetic when Billy gave him a look.

"Okay, third question," Nate said, turning to face Billy. "You said … what, he did this on purpose?" He had started out with the bluster they usually saw from Cable, but the question tapered off into almost a whisper at the end.

"Not _this_," Billy assured him quickly - glancing over to Hank, who was watching the conversation as well and looking like he did _not _like anything he was hearing. "Honestly, it… well, it _started _that way, and then it sort of shifted? Went from wanting to take Magneto down with him to wanting to take Magneto down and hoping he came out the other end. But like I said, when you start out planning something with no exit ..."

"_What_." Hank had a growl to his voice that the kids had never heard before.

"Just keep doin' what you're doin', furball," Logan said. "I'll explain later."

"You'd better."

"I'll even _share _my beer with you," Logan told him.

"I wasn't aware interdimensional trips included your own case of beer," Hank said dryly.

"Trips across _town _include my own case of beer. How else was he gonna get me to sit here and wait when the action was somewhere else? An' I can keep it to myself if you're gonna be snooty about it," Logan replied.

Hank shook his head at that, though it wasn't much longer before he finally let out a sigh and then came to sit close to the kids, though he was watching Logan. "Well," he said, "he's lost a great deal of blood, and I'll need to see him again to take out his _many _stitches, but I can safely say our fearless leader won't be leaving us."

"For now," Nate said, his eyes narrowed as he looked toward the still-sleeping Scott.

Logan let out a breath on hearing the news. "I'll talk to him," Logan said.

"No offense, but you don't know the whole story here," Rachel said. "You died."

"Offense taken anyhow - you sure about what I know? I was by here not too long ago when he was makin' his crappy battle plan," Logan said. "Spent plenty of time talkin' him out of the worthless battle strategy he had laid out."

"He…" Rachel glared toward Scott. "We knew he wasn't taking it well with us being X-Men but…"

"He kinda got over that part," James said as he and Billy rejoined them - all cleaned up and in fresh clothes. "If he hadn't, he would have told me to quit the teams when I offered to."

"Then what the hell?" Nate asked, throwing his hands up.

"You offered to what?" Rachel said, spinning toward James, who gave her a significant look, though Logan was ready to disarm all of them.

"Cut your dad some slack," Logan said. "He's been stressed out for way too long. Even for him, that pushes you where you don't need to go." He looked between the four kids. "So. Who wants to tell me what they saw?"

The kids all shared a look before Rachel was the one to speak up. "Dad was fighting Magneto." She paused. "But I guess Magneto won. Dad was on the ground when we got there." She looked over at James. "James stopped him from killing Dad."

Logan turned to James and looked openly concerned. "What do _you _remember?"

But James just shook his head at that - which was enough to get Logan to head over to him and drop his voice to a level the others simply had no chance of hearing. "You did what you had to do to save the people you love," Logan said. "So you _did the right thing. _Scott told me what the story was before this went down, it was a lot worse than you probably know. Erik was off his rocker. It had to be done. I'm just sorry it ended up bein' you that had to get your hands dirty. I offered to go with, but your dad got too upset to even try arguin' with him."

"I'm not surprised," James said, though he really wasn't sure what to _do _with Logan. "He thinks he could have stopped you when you -" His breath caught in his chest. "- or the you that was here. The one that died."

Logan let out a breath and looked toward _his _Billy. "Yeah. Well. He's wrong. There's only a couple ways that coulda gone if I'd thought you an' K were dead, and considerin' the way the feds were allowin' this crap to go on here, neither of 'em would have been good for anyone."

"None of us could have stopped it," Hank said in a weary tone that seemed even heavier because he'd just been working to save his old friend and treat his once-again-bandaged eyes. "Once the events were set in motion…"

"I'm sorry you got left without your whole family - and I don't mean just me and K," Logan said. "Jeannie and Kurt … Jubilee ... they all would've loved to see the three of you grow up."

"It is what it is," Nate said, frowning as he got to his feet to let out some nervous energy and just walk around a little.

Logan watched Nate for a moment, but James drew his attention back - and a few moments later, Logan, James, and Billy were sitting off to the side having a quiet conversation about anything James could think of to ask his father as he seized on the opportunity to _talk _to him. And for Logan's part, he answered everything he could and made sure to reinforce his insistence that James not blame himself for anything that had happened when he'd slipped into the red. He was even sure to explain what James had experienced far better than even Hank had imagined was going on when that happened, how to process it when it happened, and how to _control _it.

There was a knock at the door, and James hopped up to get it, knowing who would be on the other side, though he'd entirely forgotten to clue in his siblings until they were both frowning after him and the front door was open. "I didn't have to rush," Tony said, holding a metal box in one hand. "Newest upgrade was just waiting for him anyhow."

James let him in, and the two of them started toward the living room with their heads together as always, where the others were waiting. "He needs to see when he wakes up," James explained rather than get into anything but the bare facts. And when Tony did a double-take on seeing Logan, James simply redirected him with a quiet but serious 'later'. "Uncle Blue?" James called out. "Can you take care of Dad's eyes before he wakes up?"

Hank let his shoulders drop, and some warmth came back into his harried expression as he nodded. "Of course," he said. "No reason to compound things any more than they've already been compounded."

Tony crossed the span quickly and handed the box to Hank before he turned back to the kids. "Alright. Looks like you guys have storytime to get through. Spill. What's the deal here?"

All three of the Summers kids shared looks and, without even a telepathic conversation, nodded as Rachel said, "Solved a problem."

"Uh-uh, no. You're not allowed to pick up _his _horrible story telling habits after a fifteen minute exposure," Tony said, pointing at Logan. "No. _Come on_."

"Are you asking as Uncle Tony or as a founding Avenger?" Nate asked slowly.

"Whichever one gets me a straight answer," Tony said as Logan chuckled, though it was clear right away that Tony wasn't actually _angry_ as much as he just… hadn't expected to see him or anything like what he was looking at. "Is this you coming back or passing through?" he asked Logan, though he did a clear double-take at the older Billy, too.

"Passin' through, more or less," Logan said. "Different reali-"

"Yeah, yeah, X-Men drama, got it," Tony said. "Just as long as there aren't any killer robots following you."

"Not last I checked," Logan answered, then turned pointedly toward the older Billy. "That a problem I should know about?"

"Not in this reality."

"Alright then," Tony said, and Logan sat back and put his feet up. "Just you two, then? Or is there a strike force hitting the helicarrier while my back is turned?"

Logan scrubbed one hand over the scruff of his cheek and shrugged openly, knowing it'd get Tony anxious. "Never know."

Tony looked as if he couldn't decide if he should stay or go. He wanted to know more, but he also knew that if James could get even an _hour _with his biological father … or some iteration of him, Logan could answer things for him that no one else could. And he honestly hated the idea of stepping on that _at all_. "Okay. Good. Good talk. Logan, never thought I'd say it, but it's good to see you, circumstances notwithstanding. I'm just … gonna head out for now. Claim my deniability while I can. Just … let me know if we get any _other _inter-dimensional visitors." He paused to give James a one-armed squeeze on the way out. "I'm going to try and ignore whatever comes across the news until I can hear it from you - but I'm not going to get into whatever this is and interrupt it. Call me if you guys need _anything_. But I'll be back soon _either way._"

"I will," James promised. "Thanks. I'm sure it'll be sooner than later."

_And thanks for giving Dad back his sight again, _Rachel projected to Tony before he could leave - since of the three Summers kids, she was the one who remembered their dad in bandages after what had happened with the Creeds and losing the team. She might not have remembered everything, but that, she remembered.

He was sure to give her a quick, muted smile before he disappeared, leaving the group alone once again. And in no time at all, James was back with Logan and Billy, drinking in what he could and picking Logan's brain for stories and a lifetime of what he'd needed to _know_. Even if this wasn't _his _Logan, he still needed the guidance and this was as close as he was ever going to get.

While Nate was gravitating toward that conversation, Rachel had a more thoughtful look on her face as she watched Hank working on their dad again. She didn't speak her mind, and she was shielding her thoughts from Nate, but an idea was tugging at her. She waited until Hank was done before she got to her feet and excused herself, slipping into their dad's room, only to emerge about ten minutes later looking much more upset than before, with four different envelopes, one for each of the kids and one that simply had 'Avengers' on the outside of it. She'd opened that one to read it over and saw that it was a handwritten will asking that the Avengers take care of the boys and work with all three kids to decide what, if anything, to make public of the _real _story of what happened to the X-Men. And though she hadn't opened her own letter to know it, that story comprised the contents of the letters to Rachel and Nate, along with a personal note, while James just had a more personal letter, since he already knew the story.

Before anyone could react, Rachel had shoved the letter for the Avengers at Hank's chest. "We have to _fix this_," she said, sharply in a tone Jean had always used when she was about to go to war with the team.

"What is _this_?" Hank asked as he unfolded it.

"He left us _letters_," Rachel said, her eyes flashing with her power. "They were in a file on his desk that said 'just in case.'"

"You shouldn't read those," Logan said, trying to warn off the other kids.

Rachel spun to face him. "And what's your plan, huh?" she demanded. "He _won't _get help."

"Like hell he won't," Logan shot back. "If I gotta drag him there myself, I will."

"Yeah, but you haven't heard the story about Emma Frost crawling in his-" Nate started to say.

"I _know _all about Emma Frost," Logan said. "He'll get help."

Rachel narrowed her eyes before she scrunched the letters in her hand. "Good, because - because we can't lose him, okay?" she said, sounding both angry and scared all at once. "It's just been us since we were kids."

"I'll talk to him," Logan swore. "I won't go back until I make sure you're set."

"Set for what?" Scott asked in a tired breath, _finally _coming out of sedation after all of the work Hank had put in.

"Regular visits with Hank to dislodge my foot from your-" Logan started, then cut himself off and tried to start over, though he wasn't able to keep his temper in check. "You left them _letters, _Scott. What the _hell_."

Scott frowned as he tried to sit up a little, though he was too worn and too injured to do much. "Didn't know how it was going to pan out, and they had a right to know the truth," he said, then froze when he realized he wasn't in a hospital but in his own house - with the kids around him. And with new eyes, apparently. "What the hell…"

Logan gestured wordlessly to Billy but didn't break his gaze. "I am _never_ listening to you again," he said, sounding more angry than he actually was. "_You're _not the one that's supposed to do dumb shit, Scott."

"Just tell me it worked," Scott said.

"You got help," Logan said. "That you _didn't _ask for."

Scott frowned at that and then looked toward the kids, who were all watching him. "Are you guys alright?" he asked, looking at James because he could clearly remember the snarl James had made when he had put himself between him and Magneto - though that just had Rachel rushing over to Scott to attach in a hug, not that the boys were far behind her when the emotions were running _that _high.

"Don't _ever _do that again," Rachel said sharply, hiding her face in Scott's shoulder, though everyone knew she was crying.

Scott had his hands full trying to hug all three of them at once - especially when James almost had to be coaxed into the group while he was trying to give Rachel _room_. Scott was already getting stiff and sore, and with the IV going - he just didn't have the _range_\- but he managed it all the same. "You weren't supposed to - I meant to come back. I had a plan in case-"

"In case you decided not to," Nate finished for him. "Dad…"

"No more missions, I swear," Scott said.

"We liked that part of it," James said. "It was the bad end result …"

"Yeah, that's usually how this works," Scott said, reaching out to touch James' shoulder. "I … I already had the plan in place. I had Alex and Corsair waiting in the wings to get me out. This was _not _supposed to - after everything we talked about, I couldn't - James, I swear…" He let his hand drop along with his words and then closed his eyes. "No more missions like this, I promise. It's your turn to be the heroes. I'm stepping back. This was… just something … unfinished business."

"Yeah." James sighed on hearing it. "Alex wasn't close enough to help, Dad."

"I know," Scott said quietly. "I'm sorry, James."

"I'm … I'll be fine. I'm worried about you."

"I'm worried about _you_," he said. "All three of you. I told you Magneto is-"

"Not a problem anymore," Nate put in. "We kinda saved your life, so…"

Scott nodded when he heard it and then pulled all three of them tighter. "Of course you did. You're amazing. All of you. You're the X-Men."

It was the first time Scott had really said that in a tone that wasn't an accusation - and that just had the kids more attached to him than before, so the adults in the room stepped back to give them some privacy as a family.

"Billy," Scott called out over the top of the kids' heads - catching his attention before he could slip out of the room, "I'm sorry you had to see that. I really want to thank you for watching out for James." He tipped his head. "You don't have to stand on the sidelines, you know."

Billy didn't hesitate to rush over at the invitation, relieved and upset still and honestly _needing _the connection as he latched on as well. He was just so relieved that there wasn't one _more _loss that he couldn't do anything but hide in James and his family.

It wasn't until the kids felt like they were steady enough for _themselves _to let go that Rachel was the one to approach Logan.

"If you can help…" she said uncertainty, still clearly emotional about the whole thing.

"I'll be sleepin' on the couch until he gets his head on a little better. He _will _get some help if I have to pick him up and carry him there. But he needs the night anyhow to rest before I get after him."

Rachel nodded and wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand. "Okay."

"I'll keep watch. You kids just do whatever you need to and don't worry about anything."

"Yeah, my family is really good at not worrying," Rachel said with a dry attempt at humor.

"You know, in my experience, they all get tweaked out until they snap; then, they can't _help _but relax. For a minute."

"I somehow doubt that's what's happening with Dad."

"No, that's blood loss," Logan agreed. "Same effect, though."

She let out a small laugh and then bit her lip. "I'm glad you came," she said. "The way he talked about you… I think you could get him to listen."

"If you think I'm joking about carryin' him if he wants to fight, you're out of your mind." Logan shook his head. "Hell, I'll go with him."

"I don't think you're joking," Rachel said. "Dad said you'd go through hell and back for someone you cared about."

"Birds of a feather, eh?"

She smirked at that and nodded. "Clearly." She turned on her heel. "Thanks. For… Dad."

"I gotta thank him for James," Logan said. "It's just what you do for your family."


	59. So Many Summerses

_A/N - so glad you're sticking around - thanks for the reviews! Your questions and concerns will be answered soon enough! - CC_

* * *

**Chapter 58 - So Many Summerses**

* * *

The only thing that Alex could say to keep his father from making a scene and landing a spaceship in the middle of Scott's neighborhood was that they'd get the whole family in even _more _trouble than they already were with a display like that. Which was why they were dressed in _civilian _clothes before Wanda magicked him, Lorna, Corsair, and herself to Scott's home - leaving Vision to watch Alex and Lorna's kids. It was a totally reasonable move, seeing as Alex didn't want them traumatized seeing their uncle in whatever state he might have been in after all the blood they found around Magneto. There was no _way _all that blood had only been from Erik - and Alex could see it easily.

Still, Alex hadn't been expecting to arrive at Scott's home to find a fully-equipped emergency room worth of supplies in the living room around his brother, who was on a gurney and hooked up to every monitor known to man.

He also wasn't expecting to see an older version of his nephew, Billy, talking with freakin' _Logan_.

"What… what is even…?" Alex stared around the house. "What the hell is even _going on_?"

"Huh. Sounds like Nate. That explains so much," Logan said dryly.

"Billy?" Wanda stepped around Alex, frowning when she saw _another _version of her son - the correct one - asleep with his head on James' chest and his arm across his stomach on the couch nearby. James had woken up when they arrived, but Billy had been sound asleep until he heard his mom call his name and he blinked sleepily with a raspy sounding 'Mom?' before he'd even woken up fully.

"Hi." The older Billy waved from where he was leaning against the counters and talking to Hank and Logan - but he only held the smile in for a second before he rushed over to hug her. "Hi, sorry. Hi, Mom. Different dimension. Still me."

Wanda still looked stunned, but she automatically returned the hug. "You… you must have brought Logan with you," she said at last.

"Mmhmm," Billy agreed as he held on tight for a few more seconds.

"Nice to see you, darlin'," Logan drawled out, though he didn't move.

"So… is anyone gonna tell me what's going on, or am I supposed to just … patch it together myself?" Alex said.

"Oh, right." Billy straightened up, cleared his throat, and launched into his explanation. "Hi, so, I can hop dimensions where I'm from. We had a recent experience with Apocalypse. The guy made me watch countless universes of terrible, unspeakable realities where there was _no _hope and very little chance to live outside of his rule. I wanted to stop yours from getting any worse than what I already had to see of what had happened already. So… I brought myself and Logan to save Scott's life after his fight with Magneto went, you know, about as badly as it could have."

Wanda nodded, then glanced over at Scott. "How bad off is he? And what happened - exactly?"

"Well, he's not dying anymore," Rachel said quietly when no one spoke up first. "But, well…" She glanced toward James, not at all wanting to make him feel worse than he already felt but knowing that Wanda _needed _the truth. "Magneto yanked Dad's _eyes _out, and-"

"I didn't mean to kill him," James interjected suddenly. "I can't _remember _it. I'm sorry - even if it doesn't help, that's all I can … I'm _sorry_." He was clearly upset about it, but he wasn't going to hide it from her, regardless of how she'd handle it. He didn't try to soften it … not when he was feeling so guilty about it, and not when he honestly expected her to simply whisk him off to stand trial in Genosha.

"It wasn't your fault," Billy insisted to James before he spun on his heel, one hand still on James' chest. "_It wasn't his fault_," he told Wanda. He moved to stand between his mother and James in a protective move that took James off guard entirely. "Grandfather - he - as _soon _as James got in between him and Scott, he _stabbed _James. _Knowing _there was a dampener in play, he _stabbed him_. In the _heart_, Mom." It was clear in his expression and tone that he was also still upset about what had happened, but for a completely different reason than James was upset.

"I was just trying to separate them," James said, sounding incredibly torn, though quiet. "That's the last thing I remember until _after_."

Wanda looked between the two of them before, slowly, she made her way over and rested a hand on each of their shoulders. She tried to pull them both in closer for a hug, but James resisted, stuck to the spot and wide-eyed. Billy, of course, all but melted into his mom, still grasping for support while he processed watching the attempted murder of his boyfriend and the actual murder of his grandfather, but James was shocked by her attempt and did _not _want to intrude on Billy and his mother. And he stayed that way until Wanda said, quietly, "I wish it wasn't true, James, but I knew this would happen. Maybe not the details, but I knew he was going to get himself killed because he didn't know when to _stop_."

"I'm _so_ sorry," James replied in a breath.

"It's not your fault," Wanda promised. But when James still looked anguished over his actions, she leaned toward him, her eyes still shining. "I talked to Scott about this a long time ago. I'm only sorry he attacked you and forced you to be the one to stop him." She searched his expression and then pulled him to her with the free hand that wasn't holding onto Billy. "I'm so sorry, James."

At that, James melted into her shoulder and held on tight, completely off guard in her outlook. She should have been angrier. Or … something. _Not _consoling him. But to James, that only meant that now, it was down to Lorna to be angry. He wasn't stupid enough to believe she'd take things as well as Wanda apparently had. He stayed right there until Wanda moved slightly, and then, he finally loosened up his grip on her, even if she didn't let _go _of him yet.

"I'm pretty sure no one in this family can do anything that's not insanely dramatic," Alex said. "So you're continuing to fit in, kiddo … with both sides of it now, too."

"Case in point," Corsair said with his eyes narrowed, tipping his head toward where Scott was sleeping.

"Their conversation went south too fast to stop things or warn anyone," Lorna said suddenly.

Both Rachel and Nate turned toward Lorna with their whole bodies, mirroring each other as only siblings could do. "Wait," Rachel said, "you saw what happened?"

"Afterward, yes," Lorna said as she took in each of the kids that had been there, letting her gaze rest on Billy and James. "You don't really think that I _wouldn't _check the surveillance after finding my father dead, do you?"

"Honestly surprised there _is _surveillance," Nate muttered. "Dad's usually careful."

"Father has his own methods," Lorna said. "Or had. The fact remains, though, that neither of them were planning on that fight."

"Dad was, though," Rachel said. "He had ceramics… and letters… and…"

"Yes, he planned to fight him, but not at that moment," Lorna said. "He knew it would happen, but not just then, and not where he expected it." She held Rachel's gaze. "And no, I won't show you."

"I wouldn't have asked to see when things got… bad," Rachel said. "You could always project what you saw up to the start of the fight."

"Telepaths," Alex muttered over Lorna's shoulder. "Just like her mom."

"Yes, but that's _my perception _of it. Not the actual tape," Lorna said. "I could mis-remember the things said and misquote it entirely."

Alex snorted as he put his arms around Lorna from behind. "Got ya there, Rach."

Rachel rolled her eyes at him, but on the other hand, she was glad to have more people around that could help with their _dad_, so instead of rising to their bait, she gestured for them to join everyone else. "We're all waiting for Dad to rest before we do anything else, but honestly, I'm glad you're here," she told them.

"I can't think of why we wouldn't be," Lorna said.

"Yes, well." Rachel sighed and then went ahead and projected to the newcomers everything that had happened since they got home - including and especially the fact that she'd found a will and letters, just to impress upon them the _new _problem they were facing.

_I am so insulted that he wanted _Avengers _to take over on _my _nephews, _Alex projected to Rachel, sure that it would get a smile out of her.

Rachel did smile, though she also had to point out, _You know that was his plan for if Magneto killed him, right?_

_Yeah, I know,_ Alex replied. _I know all about Billy's exes too, _Alex said. _And how overly sensitive Erik was for _his boys_. There's no reason he'd allow me to take James in with a scenario like that. _

_Then you know if that had happened, you'd be dead too, because you're his brother. So, you know, that's why he asked the Avengers to step in. _

_You are taking my hypothetical sorrow and stomping on it - while also taking my hypothetical sadness and refusing me nephews. _

_You've met my dad, right? I've been told I take after him. _

"Me? _Nooooooo_, never," Alex replied - out loud this time.

"Oh, good, he's being dramatic," Nate said dryly. "Got past the shock of Dad wanting to die faster than I thought. Hi, Uncle Alex."

"I believe you were accused of being my mini," Alex told Nate with a grin. "Lucky accusation." He clapped his hands together. "Going for a game of chicken on this … see who can be more ridiculous until _you _tap out or do I need to be serious-er for another minute?"

"If you're going to do that, I'm going to have to tap out _now_," James said with a deep yawn, ready to crash hard now that some of the adrenaline was fading off.

"I'll come with you," Billy offered with a quiet smile.

"You don't have to," James said, and a moment later, Wanda spoke up as well.

"I was planning on offering you some time at home, sweetheart," she said to Billy as she brushed his hair out of his eyes.

Billy looked between them both with a slowly growing smile. "See, that's the thing," he said, then gestured around the living room. "I was trying to figure out how I ended up _here_ when I've never even _been here before_. And… I realized … I asked my spell to take us _home_." He smiled even wider at James. "I guess my home is your home."

James was at a clear loss for words as Billy squeezed his hand, both of them still within easy reach of Wanda. "That's the sweetest thing I think I've ever heard," Wanda said with a hand over her heart. "Will you be staying with James then, while we make arrangements?

Billy grinned at James and slipped over to put his arm around his back. "Yeah. I think I will."

"Probably best if all of you called it a night for now," Corsair said. "Go on, kids. I'm going to stay here with my boys and keep watch."

* * *

Wanda and Lorna hadn't stuck around for _too _long after that- just long enough to be sure that Billy was alright, really, and then the sisters had left to deal with the fallout on Genosha leaving Alex and Corsair to help look out for Scott and see for themselves exactly how bad off he was. For a little while, anyhow.

Hank didn't leave until he had left _strict, _crystal clear instructions on what was alright and what wasn't regarding Scott's care, though he swore he'd be back as quickly as he could if there was any backsliding in Scott's condition. With that, Logan insisted Hank go back to the tower and get some damn sleep. Which … was something Logan was willing to do for himself as long as Alex was around to keep an eye open for Scott.

"He's my brother, of course I'm going to stick around for him," Alex said. "Really, we've got it. You can just … go back to wherever-"

"Not your call," Logan said, crossing his arms. "When Billy says it's time to go, we'll head out."

"So … that's a thing in _your _universe too, then, huh?" Alex said, which had Billy laughing outright not only at Alex's presumption, but at the expression Logan was wearing.

"No," the older Billy said, though he was grinning. "We just share a daughter between us."

"Yeah, that totally clears it up," Alex deadpanned as Rachel got Logan to at least step into Scott's office to look through the incoming intel like he'd asked about before Alex had started being _Alex_.

It was an easy bait, too … the older Billy and Logan both really wanted to see what the news was saying and what intelligence people were picking up about the drama in Genosha. Logan to see what was on the horizon and for Billy to see that they were on the right path, since he seemed to think they weren't out of the woods just yet.

Which left the original Summers boys with their father.

Corsair had his arms crossed, looking not only uncomfortable with the setting, but anxious … and there was something behind his eyes that wasn't entirely familiar to Alex. At least, not with his father wearing that expression. If he didn't know better, he'd think it was because Corsair had _regretted _something… something he didn't consider until his oldest son was teetering between life and death on a hospital gurney.

Not that it was the first time for Scott to be in a position like that … he'd done that _many_, many times … but this was the first time that Corsair had seen it. The years of hiding away from his sons in space were _finally _starting to show on the old space pirate.

Alex reached over to rest a hand on Corsair's shoulder. "You can take a break, Dad. Get some sleep. I can keep watch over Scotty on my own just fine."

"I know you can," Corsair said, his voice constricted. "You two always have watched out for each other. I just …"

"I know, Dad. It's okay. You can take the second shift."

Corsair didn't know what to do, honestly, but he was grateful for the free pass to step aside all the same, so instead of acting like Scott or Alex would have - and insisted on staying with their injured kid, Corsair nodded to himself, thanked Alex, and headed off to find a place to crash for a while.

But that gave Alex a window to be able to talk to his brother when he woke up again in need of pain meds. So, Alex waited in the unsettling quiet that was only punctuated by the rhythmic beeping of the machinery attached to his big brother. He waited, turning the bottle of pain meds over in his hands slowly enough that the clicks of the pills against the plastic bottle weren't sharp enough to be distracting or a point of irritation. He waited, thinking to himself how very familiar this was to when they were kids and Alex did all he could to sit with his brother after the plane crash, crying and terrified while his big brother - his _hero_\- couldn't wake up. He thought about how little time the doctors and nurses and officials gave him before they took him away from Scott, and how the last childhood memory he had of his big brother was of him lying in bed while the doctors, who thought Alex couldn't hear them, talked in the hall about how he would never wake up and how he was a lost cause.

He thought about a lot in those few hours in the middle of the night, but mostly, he thought about how even though they were grown, and even though Scott's kids were grown … he wasn't anywhere near ready to face losing his brother again. And he was so deeply in thought that he didn't notice that Scott had woken up again and was watching _him_.

Alex was so focused as he leaned forward on the couch, his elbows on his knees as he stared at the bottle of pills in his hands, frowning deeply at them, he didn't notice it as a few tears slipped down his cheeks. But that's what Scott woke up to …

"Hey," Scott said, his voice rough as he tried to sit more upright. "You okay?"

Alex sniffled and straightened up, the back of one hand already erasing any evidence that he'd been crying in spite of himself. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Alex said as he composed himself and sat back in his seat. "You scared the hell out of me, Scotty." As always, Alex had never seen the point in hiding his worries too much. "We saw the throne room … and the hall … and … I thought -" He cut himself off as his emotions got the better of him. "I thought I was supposed to help you. I was your back up and I didn't _know_. There wasn't even a way to _tell me._"

"Alex," Scott said, trying to slow him down, but the more Alex tried to stop himself from speaking, the more it all tumbled out.

"You didn't wait," Alex said. "You never wait. And I _wanted _ to be the one to back you up and instead it … it was just like when we were kids and you were _fine_ one minute and then you were _gone_. You were _gone, _Scott, and I was trying to figure out how that had even ... " He stopped again and tried to get it back together. "I know … you said your piece with the kids. And I understand it, but I gotta tell you, big brother - I can't take finding out from _anyone _that you died again. I did that once and I never got over it. I never will. I know I've been in Genosha all this time, and I'm not around as much as I should be - and I _know _you don't need me, and maybe it's selfish, but .. I don't want to be without my brother."

"Alex, stop," Scott said, his eyes wide. He tried to sit up better simply as a means to buy time for himself to think, then let out a long breath when he couldn't do that. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't _trying _to- It happened too fast, and I thought I'd have more time," he tried to explain. "I didn't mean to leave you out. Really."

"I know, Scott. I wasn't trying to … I just had to tell you what it looked like from my side. It really doesn't matter, and I know. I do. You just _scared me_, okay?" Alex sighed heavily. "Just forget it." He cleared his throat. "It's a little overdue for your painkillers."

"Yeah." Scott was quiet for a long time. "I'm sorry," he said again. "I screwed up."

"Yeah, you did," Alex said just as quietly. "But not the way you think you did."

The silence hung in the air between them for a long time as Scott stared at the pills Alex had given him, not ready to drift back off when his little brother was _that _upset.

Finally, Scott said, "You know, travel to and from Genosha should be a little easier now."

Alex snorted a laugh. "Really? _That's _what you took out of what I said?"

"You were the one saying you weren't around - which isn't true, for the record. You came over plenty."

Alex shook his head. "Take your meds, Scott."

Scott smirked, glad to see Alex looking at least a little better, then did, in fact, take the pills, leaning back as he waited for it to kick in. He was already starting to get drowsy after not too long, which meant he wasn't holding back his thoughts as he said, softly and with his eyes closed as he started to drift off, "I don't want to say goodbye to my brother either. Why do you think I couldn't leave a note for you?"

"Go to sleep, Scotty. I'm not going anywhere," Alex said.


	60. Two Families, One Crisis

_A/N - yeah. I know. It's been a while. Off we go again!_

* * *

**Chapter 60 - Two Families, One Crisis**

* * *

Rather than let Tommy hang, not knowing what had happened in Genosha, Wanda and Vision made the decision to go talk to him in person in Westchester as soon as they left the Summers home. For them, it had been a _long_ day - one that the two of them were ready to close the books on and take a break from before handling the repercussions on Genosha. But before they could do that, they had to make sure that Tommy didn't find out what had happened from anyone but them.

Yes, there was all sorts of speculation, and Wanda knew that Tommy was smart enough to put the puzzle together on his own considering the players, but she still wanted to be the one to confirm family affairs rather than let him find out for _sure _via the world news sources.

She wasn't surprised in the least to find that Tommy had been up waiting to hear from _Billy _what was going on, so when she texted to tell him she was there in Westchester - in Storm's office - she didn't have to wait _at all _before he zipped into the room looking tense and anxious, and Wanda was sure to give him a moment just to pull him into a quick hug - because most hugs with Tommy were quicker. Especially when he was tense.

"I don't know what your brother has told you, yet," Wanda said as she started their talk.

"Next to nothing," Tommy said. "Other than he couldn't talk to me because he was staying at the Summers' house tonight - which … _what_?"

Wanda smiled sadly as she cupped his cheek. "That isn't what I came here to tell you, but that is something you should discuss with your brother." She took his hand and led him over to a chair where the three of them could sit and talk, even if every second standing still had Tommy more tense and his foot jiggling a little faster. "I'm sure you won't be entirely surprised to hear it, considering all that you know, and all that's happened in recent months, but -"

"Grandfather's dead, isn't he?"

Wanda's eyebrows lifted in surprise, and she nodded. "Yes. It happened just a little while ago on Genosha."

"Cyclops did it," Tommy said, nodding. "I thought he'd have to the way things were headed. That's why he went, isn't it? You knew what was going on, right? I know you had to."

"Yes, I knew what was brewing, but how long have you known?"

Tommy shifted in his seat. "It was pretty clear someone was going to have to do something after they came to Genosha. Did Cyclops survive? Is that why Billy's staying with them? This is bad, right?"

His questions were rapid fire, as always, but one thing that would always be a stark contrast between Tommy and Pietro was the simple fact that Tommy had _waited _to hear what had happened. He hadn't rushed off to the scene of the crime himself to see what had happened, or to decipher the clues for himself. He _trusted _his family to tell him and to spare him the misery that would have come from seeing it first hand.

"Cyclops lived," she said gently. "But Billy plans to stay with them while they recover from what happened." She rested her hand on his arm. "I was planning to bring both of you home while we make arrangements for the funeral, but considering how things stand for your brother, and how much I _know _you care for Mia, I won't _force _you to come home, though I would very much like you to. Just for a few days while we figure out how to move forward."

Tommy's foot jiggled a little more aggressively as Wanda laid out the more intimate details on what had happened, though the more he heard, the more plainly concerned Tommy was … _for his brother_. "Yeah, of course, but … can I talk to Billy first? I _will _come home for a little while, but … listen, I know he's all wrapped up in James right now, and okay, I get it, but he's going to _need _to get away from _them _for a minute too. We'll _both _come home for a while."

Wanda smiled more warmly, though the weariness of the last twenty four hours of worry and stress were showing at her eyes. She cupped his face and nodded. "Of course. I'll be looking for you both."

"I'll call before we head your way," Tommy promised, already determined to keep the rest of his family from falling into the same habit his Grandfather did when it came to taking care of Genosha. And if Billy wasn't going to be able to do it _right_ when the time came, Tommy had no trouble stepping in .. but that was likely _far _down the road, he was sure. _After _their mother had gotten tired of being in charge of things and fixing all that Grandfather had twisted.

* * *

At the Summers house, the kids all woke up to the smell of coffee drifting up from the kitchen. Nate was the one who got downstairs first, just a few steps ahead of the others. Logan was sitting at the kitchen table with a newspaper and a cup of coffee watching over everything and waiting for everyone else to get moving. Alex was passed out on the couch, sleeping fitfully after being up most of the night watching over his brother, and surprising everyone, Corsair was sitting up next to Scott trying desperately to find something to talk about as the two of them waited for Corsair's crew to check in. They had to decide on where the pick up was going to be, though it was already leaning to Westchester for privacy issues.

"Oh, okay," Nate said, tipping his head to the side before he got a bagel out for himself. "Hi, Logan. That's still weird."

"Mornin'," Logan replied. "You got no idea how weird it is." He watched the three kids as they each got their own breakfasts started.

Rachel waited with Nate at the toaster, but as soon as Billy and James showed up, too, James simply poured himself some coffee - and then held his breath before he made his way over to sit near Logan. Everyone there, including Logan, knew that the kid was anxious about _trying _to talk to him, but they all ignored James' nerves since … he _really _needed the chance to get to know who Logan _really _was. As a result, the whole vibe in the kitchen was one of awkward, muted nerves with everything that had gone on. And since Billy had stayed over - James and Logan weren't the _only _dynamic that was a little off in the Summers home.

Rachel, Nate, and Billy were in no rush to make it to the table, and the three of them took a moment to chat telepathically about _a lot, _including the two ferals at coffee.

_So I guess, if you consider where James is as 'home', it's high time we had the intentions talk, huh? _Rachel projected, sure to have Nate in the loop with her for this little talk. The two of them had apparently gotten pretty serious _very _fast, and there really hadn't been a good time for Rachel to play her big sister card. But now? All the drama that had gone down in Genosha could easily sink them. Especially when none of them knew what the repercussions were going to be yet.

_Yeah, probably as good a time as any, _Billy agreed with a heavy sigh. He was expecting teasing for this kind of talk … not for it to happen when it was _serious_. Not when everyone was still freshly traumatized and Billy was still feeling as if his head was spinning from _shock_.

_So … _Rachel said. _Are the two of you alright? I know he's just as much in shock as you are - for different reasons, but still. Did you two talk much last night? _

_Not really_, Billy replied. _But we didn't really do _anything_. I know he was exhausted but I don't think he slept much. _

_Okay, I needed to know that, _Rachel said. _But I was asking about you, too. Nothing about what happened last night is okay. _

_And we're not _just _hassling you over James_, Nate added, though both Summers telepaths were leading the way to the table so they could sit down, eat, _and _continue their discussion. _It's not just about being teammates, either. You had a different view of what we saw. Your focus was wildly different .. and considering everything … _

_Our dad, your grandfather, and our brother's whole … _snap_, _Rachel said, making it clear they were still processing all of it too. _We need to know where you are so we can help if you need it._

_But we also want to know where things stand with you and our brother. _Nate turned his head toward Rachel and smirked because when he'd looked up, both James and Logan were watching the three of them with nearly identical expressions. _They're onto us, by the way. _

_Yes, I noticed as much_, Rachel answered, shaking her head. _Before we came to sit down, actually. And they're doing their own thing anyhow. _

The boys glanced up jut in time to see that though it looked silent, James and Logan, were, in fact having a conversation … it was just too quiet for anyone else to hear.

_Oh, I see how it is,_ Nate grumbled to himself, even if he was sharing with his sister and Billy. _At least when we're talking telepathically, it's not _that obvious _that we're doing it. _

But at that, Billy tried and failed to stop a full on snigger that drew Logan and James' attention. He looked up across the table, grinning and waved one hand. "Your brother … _is hilarious_."

"Yeah, okay," James said, frowning between them, though he took a moment to project to Rachel, too. _What are you doing? _

_Don't worry about it. You don't know how long you're going to have with Logan - get past your nerves already and just … talk to him. _

_I'm trying, _James replied. _I don't know where to start. _

_So tell him that. He really does want to help you. _

James once again looked between his siblings and Billy _Just take it easy on him, would you? _

Rachel scoffed - both mentally and telepathically, then turned her attention back to Billy and Nate while Logan drew James into a quiet conversation almost as if he knew what Rachel and Nate were up to.

"Okay, so … Logan, is it alright if my girlfriend comes over?" Nate asked suddenly as he broke away from the telepathic discussion when he heard the tenor of what Logan and James were discussing. "We were talking last night and she's kind of freaked too and we figured if you're talking to Dad, we'd just take a couple cars and go to Westchester…sounds like where Corsair and uncle Alex will be going anyhow. You know. For one to go to space, and the other to go back to Aunt Lorna. And … Billy needs to talk to his brother, too."

Logan shifted how he was leaning on the table and rested his chin in the palm of his hand as he watched Nate. "As long as you clear it with Scott, what the hell would you need to ask me for?"

"Well, Dad's still pretty out of it… "

"I said I wasn't goin' anywhere until I know he's got help lined up at _least_."

"Okay, well, I'll tell her to come over then. We probably ought to go to Westchester anyway because Kitty called Storm and everyone is kind of freaking out so… damage control."

"Why haven't they come by already, I wonder?" Logan said, smirking. "Or do you think that maybe - _just maybe _\- Wanda and Hank already settled that out for you?"

Nate shrugged. "You haven't seen Storm get freaked over stuff like this."

"Like hell I haven't. You wanna speed things along with your dad, ask Warren to donate a pint."

"O...kay. I mean, other than the massive guilt trip of having Warren over to give him dirty looks, what's the deal?"

"Angel blood can heal other people. It'd speed Scott through the stitches and internal injuries, and I won't feel so bad if we start yellin' at each other."

"Okay," Nate said, one eyebrow raised.

"New guy would be faster and closer," James said, mostly to his coffee cup.

"Yeah," Rachel agreed. "But there's no way Dad would allow him to come here and he's not strong enough to travel if what I heard out of Uncle Blue is still true."

"Then I guess we're getting Warren," Nate said, still frowning. "Apparently."

"Just have 'im flutter his little feathers on over - won't take 'im half an hour."

"Um, it's a long drive and Billy's still worn out from all the spell casting he did last night," Nate said. "What, do they have flying cars in your universe?"

"His wings busted?" Logan asked.

"No, but he's kind of conspicuous, and we're really just starting to get the X-Men going, you know?"

Logan frowned deeper at that. "No, I don't."

"That's kind of the whole point of the _school_? People who can't control or hide their powers can go there for sanctuary - or Genosha, I guess, now that Wanda and Lorna will be running it - and that's why Rachel and James and I restarted the X-Men. You know, so people can stop thinking mutants are dangerous and everyone can start _living _again?"

Logan closed his eyes and just started rubbing his temples. "Yeah. Alright. Man, you guys got screwed over here."

"Yeah, well, we're trying to fix it, okay?"

"Not a criticism," Logan said. "Just … hate to see you havin' to deal with so much stupid in one place."

"Hey, it's kept us alive," Nate said, feeling like he had to explain it. "It's stupid, but I mean, Dad and the first X-Men weren't going to come back after all that, so-"

"Again, not criticizing, mini-Slim."

"Seriously?" Nate looked down at himself. "I'm finally bulking up!"

"Have you looked in a mirror?" Logan countered, raising one eyebrow.

"Just because _James _went straight to muscle-bound when he got _his _powers-"

"No idea where that came from," Logan said straight-faced. "Almost like you take after your fathers or something."

Nate rolled his eyes but didn't say anything further to Logan - especially since it looked like he and James were very quietly chatting again. The doorbell rang and Logan smirked as Nate rushed to get it.

"Ohmigosh it's all over the news," Kate gushed, flinging her arms around Nate's neck as she tumbled through the door and kicked it closed behind her. "Are you guys okay? Is your _dad _okay? What the heck is even happening? I've heard, like, five hundred rumors already! Tommy and Mia were blowing up my phone _all night_ as the news came in! Billy hasn't been returning my texts! I had _no news!_"

Nate shook his head. "Hi, gorgeous," he said. "It's a long story. Billy stayed here last night. We're all okay and we're just having breakfast right now. I gotta warn you about the other-dimension James' birth dad-"

Logan stared for a second at Kate - and then positively fell apart laughing to the point of tears as he held one arm across his stomach.

"Um, James, your other-dimension birth-dad is insane, did you know that?" Kate asked, scrunching up her nose at Logan as he kept right on laughing.

"Mmmm… I think it's just because you're funny looking," James said with a smirk - entertained just from how _hard _Logan was laughing, which was enough to get Logan to at least _try _to get it under control … not that it helped much. But it was just more confirmation of the memories Billy had shown him, so James was drinking it in.

"What's going on?" Scott asked - waking up from the fog Hank had put him under with all the painkillers because he hadn't heard Logan laugh like that in far too long.

"Logan took one look at Kate and fell apart," James called out to Scott - which had Logan losing the battle to keep it under control all over again.

"I don't even know what's going on," Kate grumbled. "Hi, Scott."

"Hi, Kate. He probably knows a different version of you."

Logan was nodding at that - then took a chance and dove into an _old _code the team used before Scott had even left for X-Factor to clue him in on his reality's Kate - and who she was married to, snickering the whole way through it.

Scott froze and then started to snicker along with him. "Really?"

Logan was grinning broadly as he nodded. "Same age as my Billy."

"Good because otherwise I'd have to have a word with him."

"Oh, there's still a helluva age gap," Logan said low.

"You're on his case?"

"Nah, not too bad. It's only a little bigger gap than me and K." He grinned at Scott. "But K argues that it's a bigger _proportionate _issue."

"It definitely is."

Logan was still snickering about it as Nate and Kate stared between the two of them. "You know what the old excuse was," Logan said. "Parentage and all that…."

By that point, Scott was openly chuckling to himself, which made it hard for the kids to want to break it up - even if they had no idea what was going on.

"So." Nate looked between them. "We're going to go get Warren? You guys just… do whatever this is."

"Oh, man, he doesn't even know what it's like to laugh. What the hell, Slim?" Logan teased.

"No, you don't get to put that on me. You just showed up at a bad time. You missed the part where he was purposefully failing history to set me up with his teacher," Scott said.

"_History_?" Logan said, though he wasn't sure if he was going to start laughing again or not as he stared at Nate in open disbelief.

"Hey, I got my grade back up," Nate defended. "Dad won't let me live it down."

"You. _You_ were failing _HISTORY_?" Logan stared at him for a moment then fell apart even harder than before.

"On _purpose_," Nate insisted. "What the heck is even happening right now?"

"I'm gonna die here," Logan said between breaths.

"Don't you dare," Scott said.

Logan was wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes. "Don't be so serious Summers. It's just air. I can live without it for a while."

"Sure you can."

"Holy hell," Logan said as he looked over at Nate, _still _wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes as he tried to keep from laughing. "You got any other hilarious surprises for me?" He let his voice drop to a whisper. "Failing history. How the hell…"

"I don't know why my whole life is so funny to you, but I'm just going to go now," Nate said, pointing at the door.

Rachel shook her head as she tipped her head for James to join them and projecting to him: _They need to talk. Alone_. For an instant James looked crestfallen, at least until Logan quietly nodded and whispered just low enough for him to hear it as he encouraged him to go with them - and promised not to leave while he was gone. James still looked reluctant, but he simply agreed to go with Billy while Rachel made sure to kiss Scott's cheek. "We'll be back soon, Dad," she promised, then projected to Logan, _Thanks for whatever this is that's making Dad laugh, because it's been way too long since that happened. _

In response, Logan smiled her way then focused enough to project the image of who Kate was in his universe - and who _Nate _was, too. _It's hilarious, _Logan told her.

_Time traveler failing history… yeah, I see it now, _she laughed.

_Go on. I'll make sure he eats something and gets his meds, _Logan promised.

_Thanks, _Rachel said before ushering the others out the door - not that they were ready to leave, but they really wanted Logan to talk to their dad, since they were kind of getting desperate for ways to _help _him.

As the door closed, Logan got up to refill his coffee - and didn't ask before he brought one for Scott, too. "You got some damn good kids, you know."

"I know," Scott said. "Every one of them is amazing." He looked toward Logan as he took the coffee mug. "James is a genius. I don't know if that's true in your world, but we got him tutors, made sure he got in the right programs-"

"Yeah, he's a genius in ours too," Logan said, nodding. "Got plucked up and tested by Stark when he was little. The two of 'em get along _way _too well." He let out a breath and shook his head. "Course, mine's goin' through a knothole right now. Nice to see him smiling a little here."

"Billy has been great for him," Scott said. "They really are good together."

Logan nodded at that. "The one in my reality … well. He had a great girl. They were head over heels. Totally devoted. And up until not _too _long ago, he was ready to propose."

Scott frowned. "What happened?"

Logan lifted his coffee cup just as he answered. "Sinister. Apocalypse. _Shadow King_, too, but he likely doesn't remember that part. Same old story. He's pretty convinced he picked up my curse by how she died."

Scott winced. "I'm sorry. We haven't heard from Sinister in almost twenty years, and there's not a day goes by I'm not glad he's gone."

"I'll have Billy look into it when he comes by again," Logan said. "Just to be sure. James isn't in a good place back home at all. Had his girl die in front of him, barely saved his big sister and _your _son before Sinister took him right to Apocalypse." Logan shrugged. "Walked right into it. No way to get out, nothin' left to fight with… and because of it, he ended up with an adamantium skeleton and a death spore in his head."

Scott stared at Logan. "I… 'sorry' doesn't even start to cover…"

"Not somethin' for you to apologize for," Logan said. "We got him back. Rachel went full fire bird and between Lorna and Doc Strange, they got the spore out."

"That's Rachel's greatest fear," Scott said in a whisper. "That she'll end up like Jean - consumed and unable to stop it."

"_You_ talked her out of it," Logan said pointedly. "K and I both couldn't do a damn thing. Half dead at the time."

"Well, Apocalypse," Scott said, though he was frowning hard the more he heard.

"You and I killed Apocalypse and now, I'm doing everything I can to get _my _James on track," Logan said seriously. "His healing was burnt out and he made a damn good attempt on himself when it was all said and done. If we didn't have a kid on staff that can heal people, I know damn well I wouldn't have him anymore." He looked up at Scott. "I'm a little sensitive about that crap right now."

"Logan, I know how it looks, but I swear, this was just - it went south on me-"

"I know," Logan said. "The trouble's that you even entertained the thought of it. Once you do that, it gets easier to keep that in your back pocket as an option."

"I can't hurt the kids," Scott swore.

"That's great. Glad to hear it. But what happens when the kids are grown? You gonna fall apart again?"

Scott pressed his mouth into a thin line and leaned back where he was propped up. "No."

"You're still way over operatin' levels of stressed out," Logan said. "I meant it when I told your kids that I'm stickin' around until you find some _help_." He pointed one finger at Scott. "And don't you dare try to bring up Emma Frost as an excuse not to."

"Look," Scott said, "I'm not putting myself in that situation again. Last time around, I asked for help and got an affair instead."

"You need the damn help. Try someone that's _not _a damn telepath for a change. Or better yet, someone who's actually a shrink."

"I'm fine, Logan."

"Like hell you are."

"I'm _fine_," Scott insisted.

"Then I guess I'll be stayin' for a lot longer than I thought. Better have Billy bring me my wife and the little ones. We can let both of our James' compare notes. It'll blow your Billy's mind." He leaned back and kicked his feet up with a laugh. "Might be exactly what you want."

Scott pinched the bridge of his nose. "You - no, you need to go take care of _your _James."

Logan waved a hand. "Billy'll bring me back within a few hours of when I left."

"Who the hell am I going to ask for help anyway?" Scott shot back.

"Look in a damn phone book, Scotty. Pick one."

"The phone book isn't going to tell me which one of those shrinks is going to tell an agency about _my family_."

"Do you hear yourself? You're panicking on what ifs. Pick out a few. I'll run 'em down myself and see if they're alright."

"It's not just a distant possibility, Logan. We almost got picked up because of a _school nurse_. I'm not taking that risk just because I got messed up in the line of-"

"Damnit, Scott. Pick _half a dozen_ and I will _check_. Them. out."

Scott stared at Logan for a long time before he let out a frustrated noise. "Fine," he said. "Fine. I don't care. You pick one. I don't care."

Logan got up and found Scott's phone book then brought it over to sit down next to him. The two of them shared a look before Logan cracked open the book to the right section and started flipping through the _dozens _of pages of therapists with Scott looking overly smug at the vast number of options.

Logan was already getting irritated since … yeah. Sure. The sheer volume was an issue, but when he flipped the pages back to start at the beginning, he stopped about half way through and stared at _one _little ad on the page. He frowned, read it again and then tapped the ad. "That one. That's the one."

Scott waved him over so he could see the name on the add. "Craig Hale? Never heard of him."

"Yeah. That's the one. Call him."

"I don't know who he is where you're from, but you have no guarantee-"

"Just … _call him_." Logan shook his head. "You gotta follow your gut sometimes. That's the one."

"If your gut gets a weapons program called down on my kids, so help me God-"

"This guy won't have a damn thing to do with anything like that," Logan said.

Scott frowned Logan's way and then drummed his fingers against the phone book. The truth was he didn't want to call - and he didn't even know what to say.

"I swear to God, Summers. I'll make the damn appointment for you."

"Gimmie that phone. _You will not_," Scott said.

Logan tossed Scott the phone. "I will if you won't."

Scott rolled his eyes at Logan but dialed the number anyway, surprised when even in the city he got a very deep Southern accent on the other end of the line - though considering that Nate's teacher had one that deep, and so did Rogue and Remy, maybe it was just a pattern of holding onto it.

The man seemed perfectly polite as Scott tried to explain himself. "Just… dealing with some stuff," he said. "New patient, looking around…"

"Fresh trauma, PTSD, _major _depression …" Logan said in a tone loud enough that Scott was frowning at him.

Scott shook his head. "No, that's - just whenever is good for you-"

"TOMORROW IF THERE'S AN OPENING," Logan called out.

On the other end of the phone, Craig Hale paused. "Who's that?"

"An obnoxious old friend."

"Your guardian angel," Logan muttered quietly for Scott to catch and smirk at in spite of his insisted irritation.

Scott was shaking his head as Craig rustled some papers on the other end. "My earliest appointment tomorrow is at 11. Can you come in before that?"

"I'll carry you over my shoulder if I have to," Logan warned quietly.

Scott gave him a dry look for that one before he nodded into the phone. "Will 10:30 work? I don't want to take up too much of your time."

"Make it 9:00. I try to leave myself wiggle room in case things run over."

"Alright," Scott said. "I'll see you then." He hung up the phone and then shook his head at Logan. "There. Are you happy now?"

"I'll be happier when you get through the whole appointment." Logan smirked at him. "I'll drive ya."

"I can-" Scott stopped and looked down at his IV. "Fine."

"I'm sure Billy'll be back to keep track of the kids while you're down there, too."

"Logan, really, I can handle it," Scott said.

"I'm makin' an effort here, Slim. I'm gonna see it through."

Scott let out a sigh and covered his eyes with one hand. "I'm torn between frustration and how much I missed this. And don't you _dare _tell the version of me that you've got I said that."

"Like you'd ever believe me."

"I might if you said you'd been dead nearly fifteen years and I was there for it."

"He'd probably ask if he was the one to do it."

"He's not entirely wrong," Scott said.

"Yeah, that ain't it." Logan let out a breath and leveled with Scott. "Not too proud to admit it, but I've tried before. Plenty of times. I'm telling you: you couldn't have stopped me- and it wasn't anywhere close to your fault."

Scott gestured to his face. "There was a buildup of misery. And yes, if I'd seen it, I could have at least warned someone. Jean could have stopped you."

"Lets get something straight - that might have worked for a minute, but I doubt even Jeannie could _stop _me if I'd decided that was what I needed to do." Logan let his shoulders drop. "You said I thought my whole family was gone and that I'd been forced to torture my team. You would have had to have shown me James before you _knew_. You did all you could."

"James stopped _me_," Scott said.

"Good."

"He said he'd quit the team if being on it meant…" Scott let out a breath. "The team means too much to them to ask them to do that."

"But you thought about it."

"I did."

"And that boy would have done it. _For you._"

"He's a good kid," Scott said with a quiet smile. "But I'm the one who raised him. It's my job to give those kids the lives they deserve, not ask them to give up what they believe in because I'm a wreck."

"So fix your wreck. You'll enjoy 'em a helluva lot more."

"I already made the appointment, Logan."

"Yeah. That's step one. And if it wasn't so damn early - and you weren't on painkillers, I'd Irish up that coffee for you."

At that, Scott finally did smirk. "Next time."

"You're on," Logan agreed.


End file.
